Never doubt Pixar, unless they’re making a “Cars” sequel. With few exceptions, that motto has held true over the last decade, with 2015’s “The Good Dinosaur” being their only film that fits those parameters that I didn’t care for.
The studio’s latest offering, “Elemental,” focuses on a simmering romance between two young elements weighed down by years of segregation, racism and distrust. Its themes are pretty heavy for a children’s film, but such as been par for the course for Pixar.
Our protagonist, Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) is the daughter of fire elementals in Element City’s (its version of New York City) Fire Town. She is set to inherit their shop, the Fireplace, which is a corner store/cafe that’s an anchor in the neighborhood. It’s also her father’s (Ronnie del Carmen) dream.
The film’s equilibrium is disrupted when Ember loses her temper at a customer (her temper is the one thing preventing her father from retiring and passing the store on to her) and causes extensive damage to their basement, which floods despite the fact that the water has been shut off to Fire Town for years. In the floodwaters is water element Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), a city inspector who got pushed into the city’s pipes when investigating the water in Fire Town. Wade immediately writes up the Fireplace when he sees that it was not up to code and was constructed without permits — something he immediately regrets once he hears Ember’s story.
Wade decides to help Ember, and they meet his boss, Gale Cumulus (Wendi McLendon-Covey) at a sports event, after which she agrees to not close down the Fireplace if Ember and Wade can find and patch the source of the leak. However, as Wade and Ember spend more time together, they develop feelings for each other — which is taboo as they are different types of elements — and Ember realizes that running her father’s shop is something she never wanted.
Lewis and Athie have great chemistry and I love how subtle the progression of their relationship is. Wade is a very likeable character — perhaps one of the best examples of nontoxic masculinity in cinema — as he is kind, understanding and patient. Ember is passionate and caring but doesn’t quite have it together, as she struggles to balance the needs of her family and her own personal desires, which she has never made a priority. The film illustrates her family’s sacrifice as a burden to live up to as she has an unrealistic expectation of herself that she needs to make an equal sacrifice, which her parents never wanted or asked for.
There is also an interesting and worthy attempt at exploring prejudice through Ember’s father, which came as a direct result from the way he was shunned by other elementals when he and his wife were newly-minted immigrants. He legitimately struggles to adapt to Wade, who is carefree, innocent and harbors none of the prejudice of previous generations. Her father’s internal conflict adapting to changing times is one of the most interesting elements of the film, one that I wish got a little more development.
Element City is whimsical and eye-catching, though the only location we get to know intimately is the Fireplace. The rest of the film’s locations are essentially eye candy.
The animation is great as is to be expected of a Pixar production. They haven’t lost their edge, even if “Elemental” is on track to disappoint at the box office. I suspect that it will catch a second wind on Disney Plus. Remember, “Encanto” was also a box office bomb, but it became a smash hit on streaming.
“Elemental” is an excellent film, though it pales in comparison to Pixar’s best. It did release at precisely the wrong time — during an overcrowded blockbuster season that seems to have overtaxed theater audiences — of which its lack of name recognition and generic title is probably why it was glossed over. However, it is well worth your time, though I admit older viewers will get the most out of it because of its mature themes.
“Elemental” gets an 8/10
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