Weeks ago, I reported about the chaos behind Pixar’s “Elio,” a production in deep turmoil — a once-promising original that had quietly become one of the studio’s most troubled efforts in years.
Now, THR has caught up with the story, shedding more light on what many inside Pixar already knew: “Elio” was gutted from the inside, a victim of executive meddling, tonal indecision, and the post-Lightyear panic that’s left the studio skittish on “queer representation.”
At the center of this chaos is Adrian Molina, the “Coco” director who, for a time, was crafting something far more personal than what ended up limping into theaters on June 22 — where it grossed just $20.8M domestically, the worst opening in Pixar history.
Multiple THR sources now confirm what had long been rumored: Elio originally featured an 11-year-old “queer-coded” protagonist, including subtle visual cues (posters, bedroom details) pointing to a same-sex crush. But this vision was gradually chipped away.
“It was pretty clear through the production of the first version of the film that [studio leaders] were constantly sanding down these moments in the film that alluded to Elio’s sexuality of being queer,” said one former Pixar artist who worked on the project.
Pixar brass, still licking its wounds from the 2023 “Lightyear” backlash and the controversy around the transgender storyline removed from the “Win or Lose” series, reportedly pushed Molina and his team to “masculinize” Elio. The result, according to one insider, was a watered-down protagonist who bore little resemblance to the version Molina fought for in the early stages of production.
It didn’t help that one of the first test screenings of “Elio” rang additional alarm bells for executives. Audiences were asked whether they’d pay to see the film in theaters. Not a single hand went up.
Molina left the project after what insiders describe as a difficult conversation with Pixar chief Pete Docter. His departure marked a turning point — “Elio” was reworked under new directors Madeline Sharafian (”Burrow”) and Domee Shi (”Turning Red”), but the result was Frankensteinian: neither Molina’s film nor a coherent studio product.
“The Elio that is in theaters right now is far worse than Adrian’s best version of the original,” said a former Pixar staffer. “I’d love to ask Pete and the other Disney executives whether or not they thought the rewrite was worth it. Would they have lost this much money if they simply let Adrian tell his story?”
And then there’s the budget. A few weeks ago, I mentioned whispers of the film costing almost $300M — a claim met with skepticism. Disney’s official line pegged the budget at $150M, and that’s what the trades reported. However, THR’s sources, including a former crew member, suggest the number was “well north of $200 million.” This all aligns with what I’d heard: Molina’s version was nearly complete before being overhauled, making the box office failure sting even more.
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