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Throughout the studio’s history, Pixar has been known for tackling sophisticated topics and presenting them to younger audiences using stunning, vibrant animation. For their latest, Elemental, they tackle some important topics and mix in a little romance for a colorful summer film.
Elemental visits Element City, where the four elements—fire, water, earth, and air—all reside together. Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis) lives in Firetown, where her immigrant parents run a shop called The Fireplace. All her life, Ember has been training to take over the family business—and her time is coming soon. But when her fiery temper causes some basement pipes to spring a leak, alerting city inspector Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a waterman, to a number of code violations, Ember asks him to help her solve the problem and keep from disappointing her dad.
After hearing Ember’s tale of woe, her emotional new friend promises to do everything he can to keep her dad’s business from being shut down. And despite the characters’ obvious differences, they find creative ways to work together.
The storytelling isn’t exactly subtle. It’s clear from the start that all isn’t equal among the different groups who reside in Element City: that Ember’s family stays in Firetown because they’re often not welcome in other places, and her family is highly suspicious of water people because of the bullying they’ve experienced. And not only does Ember fear what would happen if her father knew she was spending time with Wade, but she also knows that any budding relationship between them just won’t work because they’re complete opposites.
The messages in this playful animated adventure are definitely important ones. Ember and Wade learn that when you really care about someone, you can work through your differences. They learn to appreciate each other’s abilities and talents. And Ember learns the importance of following her heart and being her own person. But although the animation here is definitely up to Pixar’s usual quality, the story falls a little short. It all feels somewhat random and messy—and it’s missing the emotion and sophistication that made Pixar such a success. That’s not to say, of course, that this film is subpar. It’s still striking and fun, with characters that kids will love—a quirky kind of animated romantic comedy. It’s just not the work of animated art that Pixar films have been.
Though it doesn’t quite live up to the high standards that Pixar has set for itself, Elemental is still an entertaining animated movie. Young viewers will love the colorful animation and playful adventures—and they may learn a little bit about acceptance and understanding in the process.
You can plan your own visit to Element City when Elemental arrives in theaters on June 16, 2023.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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