'Elemental' Is One of Pixar's Best Since 'Coco'

By Sara Clements | Film | June 16, 2023 |

By Sara Clements | Film | June 16, 2023 |

Peter Sohn’s Elemental is one of Pixar’s best works in recent years. Welcoming the audience into a world filled with the elements that make up our own, the script by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, and Brenda Hsueh deftly brings to life a story with both themes that are universal and those that carry much more weight, working as both a beautiful love story between an unexpected pairing and the shaping of identity. Full of heart and humor, it’s a film that will hit profound notes for both kids and adults.

Welcome to the metropolis of Element City where “Elements Don’t Mix” should be on the city’s welcome sign. As the Earth, Wind, and Water residents live together harmoniously, the Fire people are segregated across town. Despite the xenophobic treatment they face, they have managed to create a vibrant community for themselves. A couple of Fire Town’s pillars are Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder Lumen (Shila Ommi), who immigrated to the city before their daughter Ember (Leah Lewis) was born. Their family-run convenience store, the Fireplace, is a hot spot - literally because Ember’s fiery tempter can be felt for miles. She’s enthusiastic about taking over the shop from her parents someday, but in order to do that, she has to learn how to build a connection with customers. Relatably, however, she doesn’t have the temperament for sales and the “Karens” that go with it. But that’s the least of the shop’s problems. When a city inspector, Wade (Mamoudou Athie), bursts through a pipe in the basement, the Lumens are faced with closure over code violations. The thing is, though, water isn’t supposed to be bursting through the pipes in Fire Town. So, in an attempt to plead her case as to why her family’s shop should stay open, Wade’s employer, Gale (Wendi McLendon-Covey), offers an ultimatum: Find and fix the source of the leak to save the shop. The film becomes a race against time, as fire and water must finally learn to work together, despite their prejudices.

Pixar is in top form with Elemental. The animation is as wondrous and lively as you’d expect from the studio. Element City’s modeling has a familiarity to it that helps the audience identify with the world and see themselves in it. It’s gorgeously brought to life, with every corner being unique in form and personality. This applies to the characters too, who all feel singular no matter what element they are. Through Ember and Wade, we see how different their characters are, even on an emotional spectrum: Wade is full of waterworks, while Ember “burns too bright,” according to her family. An awkward guy meets a girl who’s totally out of his league, but she sees kindness in the guy while he sees beauty in her flame. She ignites him, while he instills calm. Charming voice work by Lewis and Athie delivers sweet comedy full of humorous puns as these smitten love birds get to know each other and connect. When fire and water mix, there’s the risk of a messy boilover, but they manage to hit the right temperature. In turn, the film becomes the perfect rom-com.

As much as Ember loves her family, she has her “Part of Your World” moment, wishing she could be able to exist with welcome in every part of her city. Through Wade, Ember is introduced to a whole new atmosphere of wind and rain, while she discovers new things about herself. She discovers that she has dreams of her own, outside of what her parent have guided her toward. But as a child of immigrant parents, she feels the pressure to be a good daughter, not to disappoint, and to repay her parents for all their sacrifices. In her pursuit of Wade, following his write-up of their shop, she sees firsthand how difficult it is to be the only flame in a sea of trees, waves, and clouds. Her parents built a home for her in a city that wasn’t built for them. It’s difficult and risky to navigate, taking her back to her childhood when she saw her first “No Fire Allowed” sign. The film captures the suffocating tug and pull between expectation and forging your own identity with huge heart and brushes it with the strokes of Thomas Newman’s magnificent score that hits multicultural notes.

Elemental captures themes of racism, love, and identity in a digestible way for kids and in a unique, fresh perspective for adults. Its main flaw, however slight, is its struggle to work perfectly for both audiences. Kids will say, “Eww!” at the love-dovey elements, while the adults will put on their logical hats and question everything they see and how it could possibly work (and that’s very easy to do). But it hits the nail on the head in satisfying and emotional ways as it captures an interracial love story blossoming, combined with the often complicated love between parents and their children. At the same time, Elemental touches on the conflicts and risks that come in pursuit of your dreams in a world that often wants to extinguish your spark.

Elemental is now playing in theatres.