Elemental (Review) – an imaginative and empathetic feast for the eyes and the mind

Elemental is showing in cinemas nationwide from the 7th of July.

Elemental is Pixar’s answer to Zootropolis – a vibrant film with timely political undertones and a creative means of expressing them; it is a sweet and amiable story. Despite its creative setup, it is perhaps one of Pixar’s more conventional films in terms of genre. However, when your visuals and thematic confidence are this astute, such things will cease to matter in the eyes of its target audience.

Set in a world where the four elements – air, water, earth and fire – live as sentient, humanoid beings, a fire element family – the Lumens, consisting of father Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen), mother Cinder (Shila Ommi) and their daughter Ember (Leah Lewis) – move to Element City, a place where the elements all live together despite tension and prejudice. Years later, Ember is all grown up and seems destined to take over her family shop from Bernie when the time comes, despite her hot temper. But an encounter with a water element man, Wade (Mamoudou Athie), puts Ember in a race to save Bernie’s shop. As they pursue their endeavours, a connection between Ember and Wade begins to grow, despite the uncertainties around elements mixing.

As with most, if not all, Pixar films, the animation and visuals are sights to behold. Stories that concern the four elements go back decades, with the Nickelodeon show Avatar: The Last Airbender still being, by far, the magnum opus of this niche. Elemental nicely incorporates the idiosyncrasies of these elements into the world and storytelling. There is no shortage of imagination in place, and the fluid animation, paired with the kinetic pacing and creative solutions to singular elemental problems, shows a dynamic engagement with the premise on the part of the director and animators. It’s a really fun film that embraces its premise with fervour.

© 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

This colourful presentation makes a bright veil for some strong political undertones. Where Zootropolis used animals to address prejudice through the concepts of predator and prey, Elemental takes the elements of fire and water and uses them to deliver inspired commentaries on love and, particularly, migration. This is effectively a story of assimilation and how different groups of people – or elements, in this case – come together and build stronger relations and dreams. While plenty of humour is utilised in exploring how elements mingle – such as Ember’s temper resulting in burned tree leaves – there is thoughtful consideration given to how differences are nothing to be afraid of and how everyone looks for the same thing, love and security.

Most interestingly, rather than a family story or comedy about friendship, or a similarly broad concept, Elemental is a traditional rom-com. It is a meet cute film that combines struggles of self and the misguided assumptions of segregation with its heartfelt tone and playful comedy. This makes it quite the character-centred story as Ember pushes her own boundaries and reconciles with the struggles of her parents in order to find out what she truly wants out of life. It is a thoughtful and emotionally charged story that maintains a consistent pace thanks to its appreciative attachment to the romantic comedy formula.

© 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

While this certainly makes Elemental stand out from other Pixar entries, it is also a double-edged sword. The formulaic story makes it one of the more predictable Pixar films, with certain plot points feeling like an obligation rather than a consistent theme. Furthermore, the film occasionally feels hyper in its execution. While its good nature remains intact, it throws far too much at the screen regarding how the elemental world works, sometimes creating a sense of clutter. But where Elemental burns bright is its emotional resonance on top of its visual appeal. It is an earnest movie that, while a bit much in places, genuinely cares for its characters and lends an ear of understanding to their woes, be they personal, political or otherwise. The actors carry that same degree of sincerity into their roles, delivering strong performances, particularly Leah Lewis and Ronnie del Carmen as a father-daughter duo whose arc parallels each other beautifully.

This may not be Pixar’s finest film, but even a mid-tier Pixar film is often still rich with thematic and emotional strength. Elemental is no exception, with its stunning colours, likeable characters, vibrant creativity and hard-hitting themes that feel especially relevant today in an increasingly hostile world. It will delight children with its visual beauty and give adults food for thought. Elemental is an imaginative, empathetic feast for the eyes and the mind.