It has been announced that Disney & Pixar's new animated feature film "Elio" (released August 1st) will collaborate with Chuya Koyama's popular manga "Space Brothers." "Space Brothers" is a story about two brothers, Mutta and Hibito, who have been fascinated by space since childhood and dream of becoming astronauts together. A special visual has been released featuring a newly drawn illustration by author Koyama of Elio," looking up at the starry sky.
The special visual drawn by Koyama is accompanied by the famous line from "Space Brothers," "We are lonely, but we are not alone," which overlaps with the message depicted in "Elio," and depicts Mutta and Hibito, who have been pursuing their dream of space since they were children, and Elio, gazing at the beautiful starry sky, thinking that there must be "someone" out there somewhere in this vast universe who understands him. A special video featuring memorable scenes from "Elio" and famous scenes from "Space Brothers" has also been released on YouTube.
Regarding the special visual, Koyama said, "By flattening Elio in the 3D world with the same manga touch as Space Brothers, it gives the image a greater sense of familiarity and intimacy when placed side by side. The composition of characters from different worlds looking at the same moon was very dreamy and I had a lot of fun drawing it."
Regarding the words of Eddie from "Space Brothers," "We are lonely, but not alone," he said, "These are words spoken by the character Eddie in Space Brothers out of the situation he finds himself in, but I wanted them to also reach someone listening far away. I think that by combining these words with this collaborative illustration, they will reach more people."
Regarding Pixar films, he said, "I have many favorites, but my favorites are 'Monsters, Inc.' and 'Wall-E.' I think it's amazing how the emotions of not only the human characters, but also the monsters and robots, are conveyed so clearly through their movements and expressions. Even though he only has one eye, like Mike, you can tell emotions...! I'm having fun learning at the same time."
The protagonist of "Elio" is Elio, a boy who loves space and feels lonely after losing his parents, the people who understood him the most. Elio believes that somewhere in this vast world there must be a place where he "really belongs." His heartfelt wish is answered, and he is invited to the dreamlike "Comniverse," where representatives of the stars gather. There, he meets Grodon, an alien boy who is just as lonely. The two share a bond, but a threat that will shake the "world of the stars" approaches. The key to their salvation lies in a "certain promise" made between the two lonely people... This is the story.
The film will be directed by Madeline Sharafian, who served as story artist on "Coco" (2017), Domee Shi, who directed "Me and the Red Panda" (2022), and Adrian Molina, who wrote and co-directed "Coco."
"Space Brothers" began serialization in "Morning" (Kodansha) in 2007, and became a huge hit, winning both the 56th Shogakukan Manga Award (general audience category) and the 35th Kodansha Manga Award (general audience category) in 2011. The story is about two brothers who promised to become astronauts as children, but ended up pursuing different destinies and aiming for space... The latest volume, 45, was released on July 23rd, and it has been announced that the series will conclude with the next volume, which has generated a lot of buzz.
