Yonas Kibreab, the voice of Pixar’s Elio, and how the pandemic shaped his performance

Before that story, here’s what you should also know this week

• In a joint lawsuit with NBCUniversal, Disney has filed a lawsuit against the AI company Midjourney for copyright infringement, citing that their generative imagery engine has used their characters in outputting user’s queries (see example above). The lawsuit comes as many studios to date have not had an official response to the rising use of AI in creative industries, but industry workers have lauded the legal motion as they say that it will finally put in protections for creatives.

Yonas IS Elio.

When Yonas Kibreab was announced as the voice of the titular role in Pixar’s “Elio” back in 2022, he was only 12. His debut even came on stage in front of thousands of Disney fans at the D23 Expo. 

Now 15 and with the movie about to debut, the young actor of Filipino-American and African descent was immediately thrust into the role of a lifetime.

“Working on a Disney [Pixar] movie challenged me in so many ways I could barely imagine!,” he Kibreab said to us in an online interview. “I didn’t even know what the process of voicing Elio would be,” he added.

Voice acting is considered by many to be more difficult than on-camera acting because all of the actor’s performance needs to come through their voice. Additionally, the process can be equally exhausting due to the iterations and takes directors need to capture the right tone for that scene that often hasn’t been animated yet, leaving no reference for the actor to act to.

Still, Kibreab was ready for a challenge amid his own fear and nervousness.

“Being scared helped me play Elio because he’s a boy that has to deal with the emotions that come with being afraid,” Kibreab said. He added, “I think his personality is the biggest thing that I relate to.”

One of those real-life experiences that Kibreab channeled into his performance was living through the COVID-19 pandemic. When you first meet Elio in the film, we get to see that he is having to deal with sadness head-on at a very early age. “It all really reminded me of how I felt during COVID,” Kibreab said. 

He went on, “It was a very depressing time, like not being able to see friends…it got sad at times. Being afraid to go outside or to a coffee shop; it was all tough.”

Yet amid those fear-inducing situations as a young boy, Kibreab sought to do something that his character would do: be brave and get to know who you are.

“All this stuff is happening to him [Elio], and he still is an outgoing kid. And I think because he’s so vulnerable, he’s so believable. He has taught me that I don’t have to change who I am and that I’m the best self I can be,” Kibreab said.

Pixar’s “Elio” is now playing in theaters, and will stream on Disney+ at a later date.

Our special thanks to Yonas Kibreab for contributing to this story!

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