It’s a solid premise that, viewed one way, has all the makings of a classic Pixar film. It’s existential but cute. It might make you cry and also want to buy a cuddly Glordon toy. Glordon (Remy Edgerly) is the toothy, slug-like young alien with no eyes who befriends Elio (Yonas Kibreab).

Elio,’ Pixar’s new movie about a boy who wants to be abducted by aliens, has its roots in a true story about one of its directors.

Pixar trades soul-searching for star-seeking in its most whimsical — and least self-serious — original cartoon in over a decade.