Elio
Visual Brilliance Meets Narrative Turbulence in Pixar’s Cosmic Quest
ESTIMATED domestic box office revenue
$73 – 110MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
1.68% – 2.17%
Hidden potential
NA
Pixar’s 2025 animated sci-fi adventure, Elio dazzles with its imaginative alien universe and a heartfelt premise. While Elio’s personal journey resonates with sincerity, the parallel arcs undermine its impact. The characters of Elio’s aunt and the alien emperor lacks the depth and clarity to fully connect. Moreover, their motivations feel reshuffled midway. The aunt’s longing for acceptance and the emperor’s thirst for power give way to quests for lost loved ones, muddling their emotional trajectories.
Despite its stunning visuals and flashes of thematic insight, Elio ultimately stumbles. It is a fragmented storyline that struggles to bring its cosmic ambitions down to Earth.
1. The invisible plot structure of Elio
1A. The script of Elio borrows 93% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Elio’s quest is driven by self-centeredness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Elio even sacrifice their family but eventually have a change of heart.
The desire for acceptance drives Olga’s under-developed quest. The quest borrows a few events from the tale of Theseus in Greek mythology. Both Theseus and Olga overcome challenges to get recognized by those who rejected them.
The desire to recover loved ones drives Grigon’s under-developed quest. The quest borrows a few events from the tale of Demeter in Greek mythology. Both Demeter and Grigon set out to find the abductor & recover their loved ones.
Grigon’s initial journey to dominate others borrows few events from the universal quest of Power. Similarly, Olga’s latter journey to recover loved ones borrows events from Demeter’s quest!
Mythosis plot structure
#3,821
Tales interweaved
Valmiki, Theseus & Demeter
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. Potential of Elio's plot structure: $73 – 110MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code. The Code is a set of principles for creating compelling stories. These storytelling principles reveal the strength of a story’s plot structure.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Elio
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Elio uses 4 universal quests of Accumulation, Family, Acceptance & Power. However, except for the quest of Accumulation all other quests are non-existent.
- In Blockbusters, every character mirrors ONLY ONE universal quest. Only Elio mirrors the universal quest of Accumulation. Both Olga & Grigon mirror two universal quests.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Elio borrows 48% events from the universal quest of Accumulation. Olga & Grigon borrow 8% from their primary quests.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Elio doesn’t have a quest interweaving score due to its focus on a singular quest.
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Elio
Elio enchants with a richly imagined alien cosmos and a moving central narrative of Elio. However, the surrounding threads of other characters undermine its impact.
The Script Score measures the potency of a plot structure. Higher its adherence to the principles of Mythosis Code, greater is the potency. The Script Score helps estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.06
Audience appeal
1.68% – 2.17%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Elio
We have identified 32 mythological tales. These are the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
32 mythological tales strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential. First, we map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale. This exercise reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Second, identify missing events to plug the gaps. Plugging gaps deepens the character quest. Third, use missing events to strengthen the interweaving between various quests.
All blockbusters interweave at least 3 universal quests. Each quest is mirrored by a single character where every character borrows 35%+ events from their respective quest.
A redraft of the script is required since Elio employs just one universal quest!
Tags: Demeter, Family, Theseus, Acceptance, Valmiki, Accumulation, Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Julia Cho, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2025