Elio, an imperfect journey: Zoe Saldaña

Zoe Saldana feels that her new film, Disney Pixar 's Elio , is a story about the imperfect journey that parents and their children take.

"I think it's okay to look at your kids and just not know what to do, because that's a way to connect with them, since half the time they don't know what to do either," Saldaña said, standing with her three children at the premiere in Los Angeles.

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The film follows a lonely 11-year-old boy named Elio Solís , voiced by Yonas Kibreab , who unwittingly becomes Earth's intergalactic ambassador after being sent to a planet called the Communiverse .

He must work with alien life forms and eventually realizes he is not alone.

Film critics have praised the film from Pixar , the famed animation studio behind Toy Story and Finding Nemo . In fact, it has earned an 81% positive rating on the review website Rotten Tomatoes .

However, Hollywood studios have struggled to attract audiences to theaters with original stories.

Low attendance is expected at movie theaters to see Elio.

Elio could debut with one of the lowest opening weekend ticket sales of any Pixar film, according to industry analysts .

From Friday to Sunday, Elio is expected to gross between $18 million and $24 million in its opening weekend in theaters in the U.S. and Canada , according to Shawn Robbins , founder and owner of Box Office Theory and chief analytics officer at Fandango.

Disney projects an opening of around $25 million.

In the film, Saldaña voices Olga Solís, Elio's aunt who cares for him, alongside Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon , a hulking, worm-like alien warlord, father, and ambassador.

Garrett, a father of two, noted that Grigon has his own experience as a father in the film , which starts off a bit bumpy.

“There are so many controlling parents, right? Who tried to mold their children into what they wanted to be, or what they thought they should be,” Garrett said, referring to Grigon.

ELIO CELEBRATES INDIVIDUALITY AND THE POWER OF FAMILY

The Everybody Loves Raymond actor said that Elio is a film that talks about how each person is unique and how children have their own paths.

Kibreab agreed, stating that he believes the story is about families supporting each other .

They'll always be there for you when you need a shoulder to lean on, and also if you have questions or feel alone," he said.

For co-director Domee Shi , feeling isolated at one point in her life helped her create the main character of this feature film.

“It’s about the weird kid before he makes friends, when he just feels so alone,” said the director of Red .

"I feel like I've embarked on that journey. "I definitely felt like, at some point in my life, as a kid, I also felt like that weird, artistic kid, the only one in Toronto who watched anime, but once I went to animation school and met my people, that's when I felt like I opened up to others in my own world," she added.

With information from Reuters.