Elemental, the latest film from Pixar and director Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur), is a thematic melting pot bolstered by the studio’s most compelling visuals and the warmth of its incredibly likable lead characters.
With Elemental, Pixar crafts one of its most intriguing settings with Element City as it’s both incredibly fun to explore and is full of rich narratives and visuals. As viewers come to learn in the opening, Element City is comprised of four different populations based on the common elements – air, water, land, and fire. Each elemental faction comes with their own unique visuals like water people doing their version of a crowd wave at a sporting event to fire citizens using their heat to craft new types of food and glass pieces.
Every time Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis) – one of the film’s main characters – creates some new glass art piece or makes food with her father Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen), it’s a genuinely mesmerizing visual experience. The color palette just pops throughout the film, and it’s great how Pixar takes some inspiration from Disney’s Zootopia in creating a setting that’s full of visual storytelling and depth. Also, each community comes with its own aesthetic – both in color and design – showing that Pixar has gone away from its typical animation style with Elemental and it pays off greatly in crafting a visually stunning experience from start to finish.
Pixar – as they always do – also uses the visuals to influence the story and many themes of Elemental to create a richer, culturally-driven narrative. It’s clear from the start that Elemental is telling an immigrant story. The opening feels strongly tied to stories we’ve heard of people from around the world coming to Ellis Island to start their new life in America. When Ember’s parents arrive in Element City, you can feel their sense of hope in carrying over their traditions into this melting pot but also learning new things from others who have had a similar journey. There’s actually something kind of magical about seeing the community they’ve helped build grow and this intriguing culture exist in just a small slice of this city.
However, as much as Elemental depicts the vibrant hope that comes from immigrants looking to start anew, it equally displays the crushing societal obstacles they face. Pixar finds very effective and impactful ways to show the xenophobia and racism that targets Ember’s parents as they live in Element City. From them being shutout of many places to how they’re generally looked down upon, Elemental really gives viewers a very complete immigrant perspective.
There are even some great visual cues within the environment that really display how the fire community is cornered in Element City and it honestly adds to the fascination and relatability of this world. These building themes and prevalent aspects of the world really help create an emotional connection to Ember and her family from the start and it immerses viewers into their perspective. They also tap into some incredibly relevant social issues that make Elemental have strong roots in reality. The experience of Ember’s parents is also well intertwined into Ember’s personal story and arc as she develops an unexpected relationship with Wade (Mamoudou Athie) – who is made of water.
After sort of crashing into each other’s lives, Ember and Wade are forced to work together to stop Bernie’s shop from being shut down and uncover where a suspicious water leak is coming from in the city. However, as they spend more time together, they develop a romance that causes unexpected change within them and forces them to face the conflicts that surround them. A big part of what makes Elemental such an engaging and enjoyable ride is how absolutely heartfelt and intriguing Ember and Wade are as characters. Not only are Lewis and Athie great in their voice performances as they give their characters such memorable and interesting personalities, but the build-up of their romance is great to watch.
Although things don’t start off on a good foot, it’s really awesome to watch these two grow – both in their relationship and as individuals. Wade being incredibly emotional results in some great laughs – especially when his family is involved – but it’s his genuniness and heart that makes him instantly lovable. He’s a great inspiration for Ember to be more adventurous and you really love how he’s not afraid to display his love for her. It’s even better to see Ember tap into that confidence and capability that she doesn’t realize she has, and she has these self-discoveries that make her arc one of the most compelling of the film. Her story and perspective is incredibly complex and its what makes her “Romeo and Juliet” type of romance with Wade so connective.
Ember and Wade’s relationship is definitely one of the better story arcs that’s been seen in a Pixar film lately and it comes with these standout visuals and moments that easily have the power to make tears flow. The moments of them taking risks and believing that their love can exist are undeniably powerful and genuinely invest you deeper into their relationship. There are even some great twists and additions to the themes already introduced as Ember and Wade’s relationship definitely has shades of the complexity of interracial dating and following in your family’s footsteps as a second-generation immigrant. Elemental really has a lot of thematic power that’s relatable and intriguing, but that doesn’t mean that it always nails what it’s going for.
Elemental does rush through its last act and struggles to make its thematic conversations and ideas feel finished or satisfyingly explored. A lot of the looming conflict just get kind of wrapped up really quick to get to a heartwarming ending and it’s hard not to feel like the film could’ve done more with its ideas – especially since there is some wasted time dealing with plot threads and characters that don’t add much to the film. There are also pacing issues that arise from Wade’s utilization in the later parts of the film. He feels a little all over the place and it results in some jarring moments with him just being thrust into situations. It just feels like the film didn’t necessarily know what to do with him at times and it could be a byproduct not necessarily establishing short passages of time well.
Still though, Elemental manages to land that big emotional punch through its final moments. It’s incredibly satisfying to see where Ember and Wade’s relationship goes and what the next steps are in their adventure. The way the film concludes the story arc surrounding Ember’s relationship with her father will leave viewers on the verge of tears and it’s such an unforgettably emotional moment that really delivers a full-circle conclusion. Elemental might leave its thematic potential hanging, but it does a great job creating this emotional and impactful ending for its two lovebirds.
Elemental is a great follow-up for Sohn and a standout entry for Pixar with how it brings viewers into a fresh new world for an easy to love romance that features great characters, intriguing social themes, and an engaging setting.
