If you’re not hyped to see Disney Pixar’s Elemental then you’ve probably seen the trailer for the film. The marketing for this movie doesn’t sell the story that is at the heart of it at all. Maybe they were afraid they would scare away potential ticket buyers, as they’ve focused on pieces of the film that are present yet insignificant. A majority of the marketing makes the film seem like another Inside Out or Zootopia, but the story has more in common with Minari or Everything Everywhere All at Once than those other Pixar films. Colorful, fun, and emotional, Elemental is an immigrant story meshed with a romantic comedy.
Ember Lumen’s (Leah Lewis) parents, Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Ommi), came to Element City to start fresh. They build a shop that becomes the center of other fire people’s part of the city, and Ember is expected to one day take over the responsibility of running it. By chance, she meets Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy who is in many ways her opposite. Wade essentially challenges her whole world – as well as the literal one they live in – making her question herself about the person she wants to be.
Athie and Lewis are incredible and have so much chemistry. The film takes some shortcuts and jumps around a bit with the plot contrivances to keep our star-crossed lovers in each other’s world. However, the characters crafted are lovely as is the world they inhabit, so it’s easy to overlook some of the minor missteps in lieu of the bigger picture. Wade cries a lot, which makes sense since he is made of water, and Ember is a bit of a hot head. The romantic elements of the film work very well, and yet it seems impossible for the two to ever work.
The true story is about Ember and her father, Bernie. She does seem to love the shop and ultimately wants to make her father proud. He sacrifices a lot to give her the best opportunities he can, and he doesn’t want her to waste them. These are common themes found in these types of stories, and they’re done so here to great effect. Of course, there is the parental disapproval element that fire people can’t be with water people, which has obvious race parallels. The metaphors are clear, and they work to tell a fantastic story.
There is much to appreciate in Elemental. I’m notoriously a sucker for Pixar and tend to give them more credit than most other critics. However, I truly went into this one with no excitement at all, but walked out with tear stains and a smile on my face.
Elemental is in theaters everywhere on June 16.
Rating: Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy.
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