Disney and Pixar have unveiled the first teaser for Elio, the 28th animated feature from Pixar Animation, at the same time announcing that Jameela Jamil (Poker Face) and Brad Garrett (High Desert) have joined its voice cast.
The actors join an ensemble led by up-and-comer Yonas Kibreab that also includes America Ferrera, as previously announced.
Directed by Adrian Molina, the co-director and writer of Pixar’s Coco, Elio introduces viewers to Kibreab’s character of the same name. An underdog with an active imagination, Elio finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, and completely unprepared for that kind of pressure, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, survive a series of formidable trials and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.
Ferrera voices Elio’s mom, Olga, with Jamil as Ambassador Questa and Garrett as Ambassador Grigon.
The film produced by Mary Alice Drumm, who associate produced Coco, is set for release in theaters on March 1, 2024 and will contend on its opening weekend with Universal Pictures’ stuntman actioner The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling, coming out just a couple of weeks after Columbia Pictures’ Madame Web starring Sydney Sweeney and Dakota Johnson.
Both Elio and the Peter Sohn-directed Elemental, which hits theaters June 16th after a Cannes bow, come at a time when Disney and Pixar are looking to rebound on the animation side. While Pixar had a hit last year in Domee Shi’s Oscar-nominated Turning Red, other recent titles from the studios like Pixar’s Lightyear and Disney’s Strange World have hit on more mixed reviews.
Best known for turns on series like The Good Place and in films like Marry Me, Jamil has most recently been seen on Peacock’s Poker Face, the hit murder mystery series from Rian Johnson which has been renewed for a second season. She is represented by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Three-time Emmy winner Garrett can currently be seen on Apple’s comedy series High Desert, having also been seen of late on Peacock’s Bupkis as well as in Cooper Raiff’s acclaimed Apple indie Cha Cha Real Smooth. He is repped by UTA, Entertainment 360 and Gendler & Kelly.
View the Elio trailer above.
