'Elio' duo had a cosmic connection

Co-directors Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian shared a vision for the Pixar feature from the start, and both deeply identified with its tale about searching for belonging

- Michael Ordoña

INSIDE ITS SCI-FI TRAPPINGS -space travel, crazy technology, oodles of extraterrestrials Pixar's "Elio" is the story of an outsider kid who finds a new family. That's true of the protagonist, a lonely boy who longs to leave Earth, and of the film itself.

"Elio's original mission was launched by Adrian Molina, co-writer of "Coco," who worked on writing and directing the project for a couple of years before departing, officially to devote himself to "Coco 2." Molina was replaced in "Elio's" director's chair(s) by Domee Shi, who helmed "Turning Red" and won an Oscar for her short "Bao," and Madeline Sharafian, a story artist on "Coco" and story lead on "Turning Red."