Elementos

Elemental has several obvious glaring problems. For one thing, the attempt to make the elements' differences an overt metaphor for race/culture is shallow and misplaced at best most of the time.

The story's themes and plot itself are about as worn-out and tired as the art of the story itself. Not a single new idea is really explored at this level.

And, at the more surface level, the film's visuals vary greatly in quality: the environments are gorgeous, colorful, and vibrant, while the character designs appear haphazard, thrown together, and honestly kind of ugly.

But where this film shines-and I mean REALLY shines, surprisingly-is in the writing of its characters.

Ember and Wade are instantly distinct, understood, and likeable. They both grow tremendously and at a consistent pace. They are 110% the reason to see this film. I got emotionally wrapped up in their lives and desires in a way that I've only felt in Pixar's best films. This is the sole great achievement of Elemental.

The one other thing I can praise is the sound design and the musical score-both of which are largely powerful and memorable.

Maybe it's that my expectations were on the floor going into this, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Maybe wait to catch it on streaming, but don't write it off completely.

Visually the animation was really good. Literally Elemental was brilliant to watch. Also, have to admit that I was not expecting much from a movie about fire and water falling in love. Disney has always made movies for children in which they teach them to do whatever their heart desire through the story of a creature or an object that really should not or can't change it spots. Now they've picked the elements.

Elemental has more in-depth story about Immigrants I was not expecting in a Disney/Pixar movie. It was not hidden at all. Neither was the romance between fire and Ice which I was very different for these movies.

It was so different from what I expected, and it was refreshing.

I've just watched it on a rainy night but it really entertained me even with my wet shoes! No matter what other media say, it has the familiar feeling pixar brought to me when i was a child, the kind of creativity, story-telling, and fabulous portray of an elemental city. Some may deem the plot as cliche and soup with draped with immigrant issue, but i think that make sense in a way director sohn want to tell and discuss in his movie. The most important, the reason i choose a pixar product is never want to be teached something at a cozy night, it's unfair to judge an animation for all-ages out of its depth, meaning and all, just enjoy it!

From that point, i think this movie has made it.

While very simplistic and predictable at all points, it is rather "cute".

It handles its emotional core very well, with the characterizations and voice-acting being the best part (as well as the excellent vibrant worldbuilding).. but the content is so sparse it makes the pacing feel sluggish and the film a tad long. As a romance, it's okay and delivers on its premise! The other layers, like the "looming threat", are a second-thought and a mark that needed to be checked.

As a Pixar movie and after 7 years of development? I'm not sure.. I guess I expected more from the narrative. Had this been done by a smaller and newer studio, I can imagine only praises. Maybe just say the smaller division did it!

Sadly, this is a perfect movie for streaming.

In a world where beings of fire, water, air, and earth exist, Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) is a first generation fire elemental and daughter of immigrants Bernie and Cinder (Ronnie del Carmen and Shila Ommi respectively) who emigrated to Element City facing prejudice and systemic segregation to start a bodega, called The Fireplace, that is the unofficial hub of Firetown which Bernie hopes Ember will someday inherit. Ember routinely struggles to keep her temper with customers and during one such episode inadvertently damages an old water pipe which pulls in city inspector Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) from the other side of town and must reluctantly issue several citations on the bodega. After learning of Ember's struggles with trying to takeover The Fireplace from her ailing father, Wade feeling guilty over it tries to help Ember save The Fireplace as well as find out why there is water still running through Firetown when it shouldn't and eventually a romance blooms in spite of the historic incompatibility with fire and water.

Elemental is the latest film from Pixar and comes to us from director Peter Sohn who based the initial idea off his immigrant parents and based the underlying concept around the relationship between fire and water. The film was primarily based off of the structure of romantic comedies and dramas such as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and The Big Sick while also building those ideas around the core elemental one. In terms of execution Elemental does have some of the same issues of Sohn's The Good Dinosaur, but it is a nice light romance with a solid presentation of its core themes.

I'll start off by saying the opening scenes where we establish Element City and the characters of Bernie and Cinder are really good as we see them rejected by several prospective renters as despite Element City's history of welcoming immigrants as per the murals on the harbor, the fire elementals being the newest entrants to society are very much treated with hostility and prejudice. This sequence continues onward with the Lumen's eventually buying a neglected building an refurbishing it as their bodega and overtime it becoming the central point of Firetown. The animation used to bring the elementals and their world to life is nicely done as there's a lot of great details in the textures and movements of the characters with the distortions of water and the movement of fire and while on occasion the world building can seem a little spotty and doesn't feel as fully realized as Zootopia's, it does a good job of addressing systemic racism in communities. Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie are both really solid as Ember and Wade and their interactions with each other are complemented with some cute moments and amusing exchanges. I also rather liked the relationship with Ember and her father Bernie played by Ronnie del Carmen that while sweet does a good job of setting up the wedge issue.

While I think Elemental has good pieces in place, I did feel like some parts of the film felt underdeveloped especially in regards to a leak in Firetown responsible for the water seeping in that doesn't feel all that interesting and I felt like from a world building perspective it opened up some questions that the movie didn't really address. While Elemental has no villain in it, this is the kind of plot point that feels like it could've used a villain be it an unscrupulous developer or a construction firm rigging bids to add that little extra "something" that's missing from this plot point because it's a pretty big one and its not all that fleshed out.

I liked Elemental for the things that did genuinely work even if it stands in the shadows of others who've covered similar material. I think this is a much better project from Peter Sohn in comparison to The Good Dinosaur even if like that film there are still some flubs in the presentation of the central idea even if not to the extent The Good Dinosaur had them. But contrary to what people have said, this is not one of Pixar's worst movies especially when you consider the Cars trilogy and Lightyear exist.