As the people of Earth say: Okay, bye, I love you. This article contains spoilers for “Elio.”

Pixar has been making movies since roughly the time I was born, so it’s a little odd to engage with debates over whether the studio has become long in the tooth and is now struggling for relevancy in its old age. Sure, the so-called Golden Era from the late ’90s to mid 2010s might be receding further and further into the rearview mirror. But many of its movies in the pandemic era have compiled solid reviews, are considered box office hits, and fill an important niche among kids that very few competitors seem interested in doing anymore. “Elio,” which I reviewed quite positively for /Film here, likely won’t go down as a Major Turning Point™ in any regard. It’s a fun, cutesy, and emotionally engaging adventure that appeals to all the nerds and outsiders among us — which is all it really needs to be, honestly.

But how about what comes next? “Elio” doesn’t necessarily lay the groundwork for a sequel, though one could easily imagine how it might happen down the line. Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) ends the film by making a heartbreaking yet remarkably mature decision: Despite finally being welcomed with open arms into the Communiverse, a cosmic gathering of all the galaxy’s greatest minds and leaders, Elio chooses to return home with his Tia Olga (Zoe Saldaña) to Earth. That doesn’t just involve putting aside his starry-eyed dreams of acceptance among the aliens he’s sought after for so long, but it also means he’ll no longer get to see his newfound bestie, the tardigrade-like alien Glordon (Remy Edgerly). Like its clear inspiration “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” the ingredients are there for a waterworks show unlike anything we’ve experienced since the likes of “Up” or “Inside Out” … but that’s not quite the conclusion of the story.

Those who stick around for the end credits are also in for a welcome surprise — one that provides a nice, emotional button to a friendship audiences will have become extremely invested in.

Pixar movies have never shied away from the full spectrum of emotions we experience in life, and “Elio” is no exception. The movie starts off on an incredibly melancholy note, highlighting its title character’s abject loneliness as he quietly mourns the recent loss of both of his parents. Tia Olga tries her best to take care of her rambunctious nephew, but she’s human, too. When Elio overhears her venting her frustrations to a friend and decides that she doesn’t actually want to look after him anymore, he sets his sights on space and basically wills his way into getting abducted by extraterrestrials. Despite some hilarious political negotiations with the fearsome Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett) gone horribly wrong, Elio ultimately helps save the day along with Glordon. But even that isn’t enough to avoid the fork in the road that Elio has been conveniently ignoring for most of the film.

When Elio decides to go back to Earth rather than stay in the Communiverse, everyone understands where he’s coming from and why he chooses to do so … even a teary Glordon, who realizes that this may be the last he ever sees of his best friend. It’s a boldly bittersweet ending to what proves to be an emotionally complex film. But rather than bring things to a close on too much of a downer, the mid-credits scene helps soften the blow just a bit. We return to Elio on Earth with another new friend named Bryce (Young Dylan) as they’re building some sort of communication equipment on the beach — the same one where Elio was chased by bullies and abducted in the first place. As he fiddles with his long-range radio, suddenly we hear a very familiar voice break through the static: Glordon. Even while separated by countless light-years, the two pals won’t be completely alone. For a movie all about connection and belonging, well, it’s a perfectly succinct way to put a bow on things and bring “Elio” full-circle again.

But wait, there’s even more! “Elio” holds one more surprise up its sleeve for the tail-end of the credits, rewarding anyone who stayed through despite no promise of any sort of Marvel-style tease. In an unexpected move, however, the studio apparently couldn’t help but include one more cute setup for the next Pixar original to come: “Hoppers.” What makes this end-credits tag feel so unusual is that it has absolutely nothing to do with the movie we just watched. As the credits come to an end on “Elio,” we suddenly hear a computerized voice repeating the same word over and over again — “Lizard. Lizard. Lizard.” It soon becomes clear that this is the result of an actual lizard constantly pressing buttons on a phone, entering in a lizard emoji with no intentions of stopping. This goes on for a little while longer with no other explanation whatsoever, until the title card for “Hoppers” appears and everything (sort of) clicks into place.

For those who’ve been reading /Film (and that should be all of you, of course), you’ll be better prepared than most to figure out what’s going on here. As explained in our recent “Toy Story 5” footage description, “Hoppers” is the studio’s next original movie, focusing on a young environmentalist named Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda) who desperately tries to save a nearby glade from becoming destroyed to make room for a highway. In order to warn the animals of their peril, she uses advanced technology to go undercover as a beaver and live among them. In order to communicate with humans while in disguise, however, the movie comes up with a fun little workaround: the text-to-speech function on cell phones. That’s exactly what we see the green lizard at the end of “Elio” doing and I suppose that’s as good a way as any to get this movie on everyone’s radar.

“Hoppers” will be hitting the big screen on March 6, 2026, but “Elio” is now playing in theaters everywhere.