REVIEW: ‘Elemental’ is Charming if a bit Standard

It’s insane to think that Pixar’s Elemental is the studio’s first original feature to receive a traditional wide theatrical release since 2017’s Coco. All original features since – Onward, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red – were either dumped directly on Disney+ or lived exclusively in theaters for a mere few weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pixar has been trying to get back into a successful rhythm ever since, but with competing studios breaking new ground outside of 3D animation and last year’s Lightyear leaving much to be desired, things haven’t been looking too bright for what was previously considered to be the top dog of the animation industry. Enter Elemental, Pixar’s 27th feature film that was faced with pushback right from the start for its seemingly rinse-and-repeat premise of “What if elements had feelings?”

It doesn’t also help that Elemental strongly resembles another popular Disney flick, the Oscar-winning Zootopia, whose metaphorical themes of race relations and stereotypes have already come into great question in recent years. Audiences are going to be quick to assume that Elemental follows suit, with the four types of elemental people in the film – fire, water, earth, and air – each representing a certain real-life ethnicity, race, or social group. The ironic thing is… that’s not totally wrong. Directed by Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur) and written by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, and Brenda Hsueh, Elemental is caught between the highs of Pixar’s most innovative works and the lows of their most safe efforts. There’s no question that it does break exciting new ground as the studio’s first romantic comedy; however, it only dips its toes into these fresh waters before resorting to old habits.

Elemental follows the unlikely spark between fire element Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) and water element Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie). Ember’s parents Bernie (Ronnie Del Carmen) and Cinder Lumen (Shila Ommi) were the earliest fire elements who immigrated to “Element City” from their homeland in search of a better life but had no choice but to settle on the other side of the city’s bridge in what is now known as Fire Town. Element City was built only to fit the needs of water, earth, and wind, so the fire elements had to form their own community in what is depicted as a more industrial neighborhood. Ember is weighed down by the immense pressure placed upon her father to take over the family convenience store once he retires. She wants to honor her parents, who’ve sacrificed everything to give her a better life, but her perspective changes once she meets Wade.

Wade accidentally drips into Ember’s life the day she is meant to prove herself by leading the family shop on her own. One mysterious water leak leads to another, and Wade reveals himself to be a city inspector who must give Ember citations for the insufficient piping of the store. Once Ember pleads that “The Fire Place” is all that’s left of her family’s legacy, Wade has a change of heart, and the two embark on a journey to save the shop from getting shut down by the city.

Along the way, they learn that opposites attract and that their accidental meeting might have actually been romantic fate. Fire and water cannot touch without evaporating/extinguishing each other, and Ember’s dad is extremely prejudiced against water for receiving discrimination in his early years in Element City, so the two really have their work cut out for them.

Elemental has all the ingredients for a classic rom-com, maybe one that doesn’t break the mold but a good ol’ rom-com nonetheless. Recent Pixar films like Luca received criticism for being too simple or clear-cut, though in the case of Elemental, what’s to complain about one of the largest animation studios fully committing to the rom-com formula for the first time ever?

Furthermore, how many rom-coms targeted toward younger audiences get this kind of exposure? There’s nothing wrong with Pixar making their own stylistic – if a bit predictable and by the numbers – rom-com to show their continuous range as storytellers. The problem is, that’s not really what Elemental is through and through. The film is truly at its best when it focuses on its core romance, but this is tugged back and forth by the burdens of it still needing to be a familiar Disney family flick.

As if the main conflict of two star-crossed lovers looking for a way to make their all-but-doomed relationship work out isn’t enough to sell this movie, Elemental spends just as much time on the side plot of fixing The Fire Place’s pipes. This then leads Ember and Wade to the mystery of why there’s even water in Fire Town to begin with. This dilemma may be what kickstarts Ember and Wade’s relationship, but it’s simply not as interesting as everything else in the movie. Thanks to early visual queues, it’s also a side plot that you already know how it will end before it starts. This part of the story creates unnecessarily larger stakes and narrative beats that feel all too familiar for Pixar. This is where the themes of the immigrant experience and generational pressure come in as well, though those are expressed more fluidly.

Director Peter Sohn has been very vocal that his own parent’s experience as Korean immigrants was the inspiration for Ember’s story in Elemental. The representation of outsiders planting their roots in unknown territory and doing whatever it takes to preserve them feels genuine and heartfelt. This is where voice actors Leah Lewis, Ronnie del Carmen, and Shila Ommi really bring the family dynamic to life authentically and give the film the only stakes that it honestly needs.

Unfortunately, Elemental is also guilty of the most on-the-nose dialogue with its subtext (if you can call it that) of culture clash and prejudice. From dialogue along the lines of “You know, not all water elements look alike” and “Water is always trying to put us out” and more, there’s little to no subtlety. It comes across as the kind of surface-level commentary that you would expect from an average Disney film.

Thankfully, the main love story between Ember and Wade soars. Mamoudou Athie’s Wade is the perfect out-of-his-league sob to match with Leah Lewis’ untamable Ember. The two naturally grow into each other’s arms, and seeing Wade transition into a Romeo-like charmer and Ember open herself up to a whole new world of possibilities is reason enough to sit through the whole movie. It’s in these tender moments that you get a peek at what could ultimately be a far stronger Pixar entry.

If this were a full rom-com without all the extra fluff to pander to usual Disney audiences, Elemental would stand tall as a new fan favorite. Instead, we have a perfectly solid Pixar flick that comes with just a few surprises and all the gorgeous animation you would expect. As beautiful as Elemental can be, it’s hard to say if this will be highly remembered over time.

Elemental is playing nationwide in theaters June 16, 2023.