Zoe Saldaña Speaks on the Years of Dedication Animation Takes

Summary

Pixar’s latest film, Elio, is now in theaters.
In an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, stars Zoe Saldaña and Yonas Kibreab discuss lending their voices for Olga and Elio in the film.
Saldaña shares voice acting tips while Kibreab discusses the challenges and joy of working on Elio.

If you’ve ever felt so lonely and out of place that you’ve wished for aliens to come to Earth and abduct you so you can find your place in the vast galaxy, Pixar’s latest film was made for you. Elio, now playing in movie theaters, tells the story of an 11-year-old dreamer, Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), who finally gets the wish he’s been working toward daily when he’s beamed up by aliens — though this places him at the center of an intergalactic crisis as he is mistaken for the Earth ambassador to the Communiverse.

Elio is a unique story of an unexpected hero who embraces the unknown rather than being fearful of it, and offers the heartfelt humor that Pixar has become iconic for in their decades of releasing animated films. The stars of the cast are Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Zoe Saldaña, who returns to an intergalactic story as Olga, Elio’s intelligent aunt who happens to be a decorated military member tasked with decoding alien messages, and rising young star Kibreab as Elio, who Sweet Tooth fans will recognize as Finn Fox.

While being interviewed by Collider’s Steve Weintraub, the stars share their personal favorite movie theaters, before diving in to talk about all things Elio. Saldaña shares her voice acting tips for aspiring actors, while Kibreab reveals how working on a Pixar film specifically offers unique challenges. The pair wrap up the interview by discussing what it is about working on the film that made it feel less like work and more like fun.

The Stars of ‘Elio’ Know Where You Can See the Movie on Opening Weekend

COLLIDER: So I’m obsessed with getting more people to see movies in movie theaters. That’s the way you should watch everything. For both of you, do you have a favorite movie theater?

ZOE SALDAÑA: I like the ones now where you get to recline the seat and be more comfortable. I have ballet injuries, and I can’t just sit through as films get longer and longer. I remember these old theaters in New York all through the five boroughs, from New York to Brooklyn to Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan, and there is just something very historical and beautiful about them. You never want to turn the lights on because half of them were in dire need of renovation, but I loved the history that they held. There was a certain type of energy that felt timeless, and I miss that. So, those are the ones that I think about.

YONAS KIBREAB: I live in LA, so there are two. One is in the Grove. That’s a really good movie theater.

AMC The Grove? I’ll give it a shoutout: That’s where I saw the movie last night.

SALDAÑA: Oh, really?

KIBREAB: Yeah, I like the IMAX theaters. Those ones are cool. And the seats do recline, so you would like that.

SALDAÑA: Okay! I gotta go then.

KIBREAB: And there’s another one that’s kind of the closest theater, I guess, to me, where I go with my friends. It’s the Cinemark XD in Playa Vista. That’s a good one.

I’m just happy that we’re talking about movies in movie theaters.

Zoe Saldaña Shares Her Best Voice Acting Tips

“I’ve gotten better at understanding what my voice needs.”

So one of the things that I don’t think people realize about the recording process sometimes is how long the sessions can be and how it can wear on your vocal cords. Could you both pull people behind the curtain and explain what it’s really like making this?

SALDAÑA: This is definitely not the first animation that I’ve voiced, and I feel that I’ve gotten better at understanding what my voice needs, which is rest the day before and a lot of green apples the day of, because there’s something about what green apples do to your palate. It kind of softens your taste buds, that way you don’t get that pasty sort of sound that, if you’re in a booth, can be really loud. And always ask to have all the screaming scenes or lines to be last, that way you get through all the dialogue, all the emotional scenes, and then you get to the ones where you’re making a lot of noise.

KIBREAB: I think the difference, really, between doing Pixar and doing maybe a Disney Junior show, for example, is for Pixar, I could be working on the same scene the whole session, or I can be doing a scene one day and then they’ll schedule me the next three days, and then it’s there again. They’ll take so much time into perfecting one scene, and that’s what makes it so unique. I really like voiceover because it’s a little bit more challenging to communicate your emotions through your voice versus on camera. They can see you cry, for example. It’s a big difference.

Absolutely. With Pixar, you have more time.

KIBREAB: Yeah, four years’ time.

Elio stands surrounded by aliens in the Pixar movie.

‘Elio’: Release Date, Trailer, Cast, and What to Expect

Pixar is taking audiences on an out-of-this-world adventure.

That actually leads to what I wanted to bring up. What has it been like for you, especially? I looked at your Instagram and you’ve been working on this since you were, like, out of the womb. You came out and started working on it. What has it been like, and what has it been like for you? Because these movies can really change during the recording process.

KIBREAB: I wouldn’t even consider it work anymore. It’s so fun for me. I wouldn’t consider it work. It’s more like play for me. For the four years I’ve been working on it, it’s never gotten boring at all.

SALDAÑA: For this one, I jumped on board after so many of the components were already there, but we still had enough space for nuances and to improvise some things, so I was able to incorporate so much of who I am into Olga to make her feel authentically me, and I love that. It hasn’t happened in a long time. But usually I do like the process of it because it gives me the ability to get to know the animator more, to get to know the filmmaker more.

This is a world where everybody who joins animation is because they have an innate desire, a natural passion to do it, because it is a time-consuming way of telling stories. You write something 15 years before, and then you’re finally getting to do it, and it takes you five years. And as time goes by, we’re able to reduce that time to maybe two years or three years, but it’s still a group of people that are coming together to put something together, and I really admire that whole process because it takes dedication, but it takes love.

Elio is now in theaters.