The following contains spoilers for Elio, now playing in theatersElio‘s best scene proves that Pixar could easily nail a genre they’ve never fully tackled, even if that possibility seems remote in the current climate. Elio is in many ways a classic Pixar movie, with a focus on emotional storytelling, colorful worldbuilding, and subversive swings at established concepts. Elio is a fun addition to the Pixar library that doesn’t necessarily break the mold, instead working within the standard tonal wheelhouse that’s long defined one of modern animation’s most enduring studios.
That’s partly what makes their big tonal swing for one gag in Elio all the more surprising. The beat revolves around a minor character utilizing their abilities to frightening effect, effectively showing off what a scary Pixar movie could look like. Beyond being a funny joke, it’s also a moment that genuinely hints at skill for playing with the horror genre. Even if the upcoming Pixar film slate doesn’t have room for a scary movie, Disney’s history and the artistic talent at Pixar make the potential for a Pixar all-ages horror movie all the more enticing.
Elio’s Best Scene Proves That Pixar Should Do A Full Horror Movie
Elio’s Clone Has The Best Gag In The Entire Film
Elio‘s best moment plays with a lot of conventional horror elements, suggesting the animation studio would deliver a terrific all-ages horror film (even if it seems unlikely that they would ever make a full-blown scary movie). The funniest moment in Elio happens when the тιтular boy is racing alongside his aunt Olga to recover his spaceship. To distract the guards, Elio has his clone (who has already announced his intentions to dissolve into a puddle of goop) do so in full view of the guards. The clone even plays up the unsettling elements of his fate for good effect.
The result is a hilarious moment that has the clone moving unnaturally fast, with jerky movements and a discordant calm. The entire scene is lit so that the shadows are more pronounced, ratcheting up the suspense and terror for the guards. While the audience is left laughing at the turn, the guards are clearly horrified by the sudden turn. It’s a great little bit of gallows humor that plays so well because of how effectively the film mines typical horror tropes and imagery to great effect in the scene. It also proves that Pixar could make a great horror movie.
Disney Animation Has A Long (But Downplayed) Tradition Of Scary Animation
Pixar Should Continue The Long-Dormant Trend Of Scary Disney
Unfortunately, it seems unlikely the studio will ever make a full-blown scary movie. While some of their films (like Brave and Coco) have moments that can be unsettling or frightening, the focus quickly shifts back to the more colorful and emotional core that often defines Pixar films. That’s a shame, because the Disney umbrella that it falls under actually has a history of producing some genuinely terrific horror animation. Films like Frankenweenie, The Black Cauldron, and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad featured genuinely unsettling visuals that never stopped feeling like Disney.
More straightforward animated fare from Disney Animation like Pinocchio, Beauty & the Beast, and Fantasia have also included some frightening imagery, highlighting how the studio’s attention to detail and focus on excellent animation can be used to solid frightening effect. However, Disney and Pixar have never been known for their horror stories, making it less likely that the studios would subvert typical expectations and make an all-ages horror movie. Elio proves the Pixar filmmakers have a good eye for creepy visuals, it’s just a shame they haven’t done a movie that fully embraced it.
Pixar’s Rivals Have Proven There Is A Space For All-Ages Horror
All-Ages Horror Can Be Scary For The Whole Family
The frustrating part about this is that there is room for all-ages horror movies, and some of Pixar and Disney’s biggest rivals in the animated space have proven this repeatedly in the 21st century. Movies like Monster House, ParaNorman, Coraline, Corpse Bride, The Addams Family, and Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island embrace horror elements to great effect, either using them to enhance the unique atmosphere or to play into the subversive approach to scary concepts and characters. There’s plenty of room in the modern cinematic landscape for a scary movie for the whole family.
Disney has even seen critical success in the 21st century when they produced a straight horror story. The TV special The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation. The short, which is unmistakably a Mickey Mouse short to its very core, also boasts some genuinely unsettling beats, such as Donald’s nephews being baked into a pie while trying to escape an inhuman witch. Pixar’s Elio scare gag proves that they have the same scary potential, even if it remains untapped.
A Pixar Horror Movie Would Be Fantastic
The Best Scares Can Come From The Most Unexpected Places
Given what we’ve seen from Pixar over the years, I’m convinced that the studio could nail a scary all-ages animated movie. I think Elio showcases how filmmakers like Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian more than know how to put together a scary scene, even turning the intensity of the moment up for comedic effect. I’d love to see what kind of creatively grim ideas the studio could come up with, especially after seeing the inventive cosmic landscape of Elio.
Pixar has already approached this kind of subject matter before with Coco, which really only explored the frightening potential of the premise when Miguel first realizes he’s been trapped in the Land of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Seeing the studio craft an entire movie around the kind of dread and terror that Mor’du the demon bear in Brave brings to the screen would be exciting. It would also be a chance for Pixar to escape the typical boundaries that define their films, giving the inventive studio a chance to take a creative risk.
I’d love to see Elio‘s best scene inspire Pixar to fully take on a horror movie…
That seems like an increasingly unlikely development in the current cinematic landscape, especially with almost all of Pixar’s upcoming films set to be sequels to previously established IP. While Coco 2 could embrace the scarier elements of being a film centered around the afterlife, it seems more likely that the film will expand on the more colorful and emotional elements of the original movie. There isn’t room in the current Pixar film slate for a genuine horror movie, which is a shame.
Elio‘s emotional ending only uses the horror conventions for one gag, but it’s one of the film’s most memorable moments. It’s a silly beat that underscores how effectively the Pixar style of animation would translate to horror. This isn’t to say that a Pixar scary movie should be gory or inappropriate. However, there’s precedent in the history of Disney Animation that proves all-ages horror is a fit for the studio. I’d love to see Elio‘s best scene inspire Pixar to fully take on a horror movie, even if it’s a genre I doubt the studio would ever fully commit to.
