That old Pixar magic, once one of the most bankable commodities in Hollywood, is in short supply in "Elio," a run-of-the-mill animated tale about overcoming loneliness and alienation, even if it means heading off to another planet in order to do so.

Elio, voiced by Yonas Kibreab, is an 11-year-old kid living with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) after the death of his parents. He lacks connections with others and wants nothing more than to be abducted by aliens, to the point where he invites the attention of spaceships and begs them to take him away from life on Earth.

He gets his wish when he's zapped up to the Communiverse, where new species welcome him as the ambassador to Earth. Elio has no such official designation, though he goes along with the ruse, because what 11-year-old living his dream in outer space is going to tattle on himself?

He befriends Glordon (voiced by Remy Edgerly), a worm-like larva creature with a warm heart, with whom he finds commonalities, despite their distinctly different genetic makeup. Glordon fears his father, Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), a tyrannical leader who wants to overthrow the Communiverse and who looks to be modeled after "Toy Story's" Zurg. Meanwhile, Elio's cloned duplicate back on Earth is a little too well-behaved to pass for Elio and is raising suspicions, especially those of his aunt.

"Elio," which is directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina, immediately falls into the range of third-tier Pixar. It's cute enough, but it doesn't stand out in terms of character, humor or wit. It skews young — its target is 7-year-olds — and it doesn't offer anything for adults to grab onto. It doesn't ask much on its own behalf and doesn't give much in return.

Which would be all well and good, except at one time Pixar was a cut above the competition, and was the gold star in film animation. It's been a while since the company's glory days, which are now celebrated with its returns on sequels, not that "Elio" is begging for one of those. It's standard, a passable piece of family entertainment, but far from what we once expected from the company that brought us "Up," "WALL-E" and "Inside Out." It's nothing special.

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'ELIO'

Grade: C

MPA rating: PG (for some action/peril and thematic elements)

Running time: 1:39

How to watch: In theaters June 20

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