The Music of Elio with Composer Rob Simonsen

June 26, 2025 - 05:30 PM

Composer Rob Simonsen joins guest host Jon Burlingame to discuss his sweeping and emotionally rich score for Pixar’s “Elio.” The composer shares how he approached scoring the story of a young boy making first contact with aliens, weaving together emotional warmth, cosmic wonder, and a sense of fun. He also discusses how Dolby Atmos® helped shape the immersive quality of the soundtrack, after being a bit of a skeptic of the technology at first.

MOVIE STUDIO

Pixar Animation Studios

DIRECTOR

Adrian Molina, Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian

ORIGINAL MUSIC

Rob Simonsen

Synopsis

Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.

Sound Credits

Stuart Allen-Hynd Dialogue Recording Engineer

Phoenix Aquino-Thomas client services

Steve Bissinger sound effects editor

Jeremy Bowker sound designer / supervising sound editor

Ronni Brown foley artist

Vince Caro production sound mixer

Omisha Chaitanya dialogue recordist

Brian Chumney supervising sound editor (rumored)

Nathan Crowe dialogue recordist

Jessey Drake sound effects editor

Richard Duarte foley mixer

Thor Fienberg additional mixer

Richard Gould sound effects editor

Lora Hirschberg re-recording mixer

Doc Kane production sound mixer: post production

Devon Kelley assistant supervising sound editor

Samuel Lehmer production sound editor

Scott R. Lewis re-recording mixer (rumored)

Andy Manganello dialogue recordist

Liz Marston mix technician

Paul McGrath production sound mixer

Steve Morris head of engineering

Jordan Myers foley editor

Cheryl Nardi supervising dialogue editor

Jon Null head of production

David Peifer digital editorial support

Michael Peters head of production finance & planning (as Mike Peters)

Joel Raabe sound effects editor

Gary A. Rizzo re-recording mixer (rumored)

Jesus Rodriguez sound recordist

Dee Selby foley editor

Scott Theakston Digital Editorial Support

Randy Thom sound designer & re-recording mixer (rumored)

Jana Vance foley artist

Philip von Düring recording engineer: editorial (as Philip von During)

Bonnie Wild re-recording mixer

Bill Higley original dialogue mixer (uncredited)

Jamison Rabbe dialogue recordist (uncredited)

Original Soundtracks