4 Family Films To Watch After Disney Pixar’s ‘Elio’
It’s always an exciting time whenever Pixar releases a new film.
Just as the studio has managed to deliver such distinguished past hits as Luca, Soul, and Inside Out 2, so too does Pixar continue its stellar string of recent successes with Elio. An imaginative sci-fi comedy filled with heart and warmth, Elio adequately serves as yet another unforgettable outing from the famed animation studio, cementing its place as one of the best Pixar films of the past decade.
As audiences flock to theaters to see the film in person, we wanted to put together a list of similarly enjoyable family-friendly films to watch after Elio, each of which remain worth seeing for one reason or another.
The Iron Giant (1999)
Just as Elio explores an unlikely friendship among two wildly different species (a common thread for this list), The Iron Giant portrays the remarkable bond formed between a lonely young boy and a mysterious robotic giant in 1950s New England. In what can almost be described as an animated successor to E.T., The Iron Giant delivers an unwaveringly powerful story around friendship, family, and identity – all through the guise of a long lost ‘50s B movie, of course.
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
No disrespect to its recent live-action remake, but we’re going to go and say the original 2002 film is the superior version of Lilo & Stitch. An inventive sci-fi comedy that finds a misunderstood mutant alien seeking refuge in the suburbs of Hawaii, Lilo & Stitch is as genuinely funny as it is overwhelmingly heartwarming, living on as one of the best Disney films of its era.
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
As with the aforementioned Lilo & Stitch, both versions of How to Train Your Dragon are certainly worth watching in their own right. However, our hearts routinely gravitate back towards the original version of this DreamWorks classic, itself among the greatest movies from the hit animation studio to date. Encouraging every viewer to embrace their own individuality and avoid judging a book by its cover, How to Train Your Dragon is a crowd-pleasing fantasy epic unlike any other.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
To this day, Steven Spielberg continues to insist E.T. is the film he’s most proud of as a director. (And coming from the man who made Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saving Private Ryan, and Schindler’s List, that’s certainly a comment not meant to be taken lightly.) Exploring the otherworldly relationship between a young boy and a lone alien stranded on Earth, practically every other film on this list owes E.T. a clear debt of gratitude, whether looking at The Iron Giant, How to Train Your Dragon, or even Pixar’s Elio.
