Queer subtext in Disney's Elio was reportedly cut by Pixar

Elio, the adorable new film from Pixar and Disney, is the latest film to have its LGBTQ+ content cut ahead of debuting on the big screen.

The first screening of the Elio, viewed in 2023, had an alleged queer subtext to the titular character. However, that storyline is no longer in the movie's final cut according to a story from The Hollywood Reporter.

The reports explain that director Adrian Molina originally crafted Elio in a way that was never meant to be a coming-out story, but did include some of the early signs of queerness for an 11-year-old. Examples brought up in the reports include one scene of Elio collecting trash on the beach and turning it into a pink tank top, then having a "trash-ion show" for a hermit crab. Another scene showed Elio's bedroom with pictures that suggested he had a male crush.

Studio executives were allegedly not satisfied with that original cut of Elio. Moreover, viewers who were present for that first screening liked the film but reportedly claimed that they wouldn't go see it in a theater. Molina later screened the film for Pixar leadership, and reportedly left that experience feeling "hurt." He ultimately exited the project in 2024.

THR reports that "much of Elio was reworked under new co-directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi." The queer subtext faded and Elio became "more masculine" following feedback from leadership.

"It was pretty clear through the production of the first version of the film that [studio leaders] were constantly sanding down these moments in the film that alluded to Elio’s sexuality of being queer," one anonymous Pixar artist said in the report. "A lot of people like to blame Disney, but the call is coming from inside the house. A lot of it is obeying-in-advance behavior, coming from the higher execs at Pixar."

The animated feature grossed an estimated $41.9 million at the domestic box office as of this writing (via IMDb Pro) — a very low figure for a Disney/Pixar movie with a reported budget of $150 million.

The anonymous Pixar artist who was quoted in the report couldn't help but wonder how it would've performed if Molina's original story had been preserved. "I'd love to ask Pete and the other Disney executives whether or not they thought the rewrite was worth it. Would they have lost this much money if they simply let Adrian tell his story?"

Though Elio is quite sweet and heartfelt, it's upsetting to hear that the film is another casualty in the erasing of LGBTQ+ characters and plotlines from Hollywood studios, which Disney has been a significant part of.

Elio is now playing in theaters.