by Alice-Ginevra Micheli, Contributing Writer
Pixar has long been lauded as the GOAT of animation, delivering stories that have a lot of heart, as well as buckets full of creativity. With iconic films like Ratatouille, Wall-E, and Finding Nemo, there was a time where we considered that they could do no wrong.
Then there was one slip, then two, and now the general consensus seems to be that Pixar is no better than any other animation production company, with its hits, as well as its misses.
Elemental was meant to bring about a new wave of great Pixar films. The seemingly original story and innovative design appeared to be enough to generate excitement in the hearts of many audience members. However, there were also many nagging voices in the back of this same audience’s heads wondering, “Will they actually be able to do it?”
Peter Sohn’s sophomore film follows Lea Lewis’ Ember and Mamoudou Athie’s Wade, who meet in a city where fire, water, earth, and air residents live together in fragile harmony.
As always with these things, I want to begin by talking about animation. Pixar is a powerhouse for a reason, and this time is no different. The character designs, especially of the fire-people, are at times breathtaking, and at others, still extremely beautiful.
There is some clear creativity here, with the way the characters interact with the world, and each other. From how air-people get around in blimps, to how water people can do a literal wave at a sports event, it’s clear those same brains who gave us a fully functioning toy society are still present in the periphery. It’s truly gorgeous to look at, with it all having been rendered beautifully to appease the eyes of the masses. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind as I entered the cinema, and there certainly wasn’t one as I came out of it.
However, where this film does fall a little flat is in its story. It is simply missing that Pixar spark. You know the one I’m talking about. There is that extra something in Pixar’s truly successful stories that draws in people of all ages, and introduces them to concepts and emotions that they may have hitherto not had much interaction with. It’s not just an ability to pull on the heartstrings, but to grab them, hang on tight, and maneuver them to their storytelling will. This movie just doesn’t have that.
Truly, what seems to be lacking here is the proper depth of story and of character to achieve that next level of entertainment. While the designs are beautiful, the plot feels like something that I’ve seen many, many times before.
Ahead of Elemental’s release, I’d hear people around me joking about how it looks like it’s Zootopia and Inside Out mashed together. To that I would say, on the surface, yes; but it doesn’t have enough going on below it for it to truly compare. Some of it has to do with the pacing, and some of it has to do with too much time spent world building, and not enough time spent developing character. Wade and Ember have chemistry because the movie tells me so, but not because it truly takes the time for me to become attached to them.
All of this to say, the biggest disappointment for me is in fact that this movie might have been a DreamWorks or Illumination picture for all I knew, and when a studio has managed to build a reputation as lofty as Pixar has, it’s just not good enough.
Having said that, Elemental isn’t a bad film. It’s fine; just fine. It’s definitely been catered to the younger audience more than other recent outings, and I’m sure that any child whose parents put this on for them on Disney+ will be more than appeased. It’s also worth noting that just because I’ve seen this story before, doesn’t mean that it’s not enjoyable to experience once again. There’s a place for originality, and a place for more of the same. I think as long as you enter the film knowing you’re not really getting proper Pixar this time around, but rather something that looks great, and acts okay, then your expectations will have been set.
Do I think this movie is going to become the icon that many before it have? Absolutely not. For what it’s worth, it is an inoffensive, color-within-the-lines, stock-standard story about breaking outside familial expectations, with a little bit of racial pedagogy sprinkled in using elements in substitution of ethnicities.
It’s nothing new, but it’s also nothing bad. So, if you’ve already seen Spider-Verse, and want animation that slightly outclasses that delivered by the Mario movie, then Elemental might be a viable option to check out.
Score: 7/10
Elemental is currently playing in theaters
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