Movie Review: Elemental

We all come from different walks of life. The world is filled with numerous continents and home to a plethora of cultures and ethnicities with wonderfully unique distinctions.  With so many aspects of our life that define us individually, it says something that we are able to find other people to connect with despite our differences.  It says something about life that despite our differences we are able that special someone who everything just falls into place with and share in that one beautiful connection called love.  Love is at the heart of everything we do, whether it’s love for our families, our friends or our cultures.  Love is what makes life so fulfilling because it takes us through so many beautiful moments.  All of these points are utilized with so much creative expression in PIXAR’s latest animated motion picture titled Elemental.

Directed by Peter Sohn with a screenplay written by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh. Elemental serves as the latest animated motion picture from PIXAR studios.  It’s cast includes Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Catherine O'Hara. Released on June 16th 2023 , the film was projected to perform poorly during it’s initial run in cinemas, however after it’s initial release the film turned out to become a sleeper hit on a commercial end. The film also received generally favourable reviews from critics.

The narrative of Elemental takes place in a world in which Elements are living beings.  Within Element City a young fire element called Ember lives with and helps her parents run a shop out in the city’s Fire District.  Filled with great pride and love for her parents and their culture, Ember struggles with the responsibility of inheriting her parents’ business while also trying to strive her own path in a city which clearly doesn’t feel built to accept her as a Fire element.  It’s during her struggles she meets a water element by the name Wade who ends up citating her parents shop for a number of permit violations.  In an attempt to make amends and to help Ember to save her parents shop, Wade accompanies Ember on a journey across Element city which will lead them to discover a flourishing connection that develops between them.  The core of the film focuses on this relationship as it develops and Ember’s own struggle to live up to the responsibility, her parents plan to inherit onto her. 

The narrative behind Elemental is its best feature in my opinion. I love the idea that this is a love story on several fronts.  Ember clearly loves her parents and the culture they come from and her struggle to live up to their expectations while also trying to define what she wants is one that many can clearly relate to.  On the other end the journey she takes with Wade shows an endearing and heartwarming relationship of connection that defies the differences between them.  The entire film tries to convey how water and fire are naturally opposed on a fundamental level and yet the film cleverly uses that distinction as a means of further express how boundless love is as a concept. The idea that love breaks those boundaries is a wonderfully poignant message to express and one that anyone can relate to.  That core focus on the love between Ember and Wade and the love between Ember and her family is one that resonated with me on ways I really wasn’t expecting and I truly appreciate the way in which the film choose to project that focus. 

On a visual end, I mean it’s PIXAR so it’s fair to say we were always going to get a lot of compelling visuals here; it’s what these folks do best.  The world of Elemental is so distinctly realized on a lot of interesting layers too.  You can tell the city in which this movie takes places takes great inspiration from places like New York and San Francisco with how culturally diverse it feels and the scale that it spans. The animators really took full advantage of every visual frame within this film as color and expression are clear to see at every moment. Character design is also a key standout here too, as the idea of elements all inhabiting a living being with unique variations and flourishes doesn’t feel at all wasted here. I’m also happy to hear one of my favorite music composers Thomas Newman provide the movie with his talent.  His musical score gives Elemental that added touch that really helps ground it in the necessary themes it’s playing with. 

Elemental really surprised me, which I should be learning by now with PIXAR is often a case.  I feel I sometimes unfairly dismiss PIXAR as of late with a lot of new animated pictures coming in and taking the spotlight. However PIXAR are clearly out here showing they aren’t out of the race yet as they show here they are capable of not only delivering some visually compelling movies but ones with deeply emotional and human concepts that anyone and everyone can truly relate to. Love is at the heart of what we do, whether it be for our families, our partners or our cultures. Love defines boundaries in so many ways and I respect Elemental for showcasing this fundamental truth in such a spectacular fashion.