Elemental – Review

First movie I’ve seen where I was drinking the main character.

Woah! A Pixar movie that isn’t straight-to-streaming! It’s been a while!… Wait a minute, can you say that again?… (sorry, my dog just said something)… “Light year”? Oh, you mean it’s been a “light year” for animated Disney theatrical releases? Because there’s no way they would dedicate a theatrical release to the movie that inspired the toy that stars a human named Buzz Lightyear. And there’s no way that movie would look modern despite Toy Story releasing in 1995. There’s just NO way they would choose Lightyear as the return of the Pixar theatrical release while Onward, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red are Disney+ exclusives!? Oh. Wait. You mean to tell me… Water, Fire, Wind, and Earth have rich inner lives!? Hopes and dreams!!?? Friends and family!?!?! One of the water guys lives in an apartment? The elements are sentient beings and I’m taking advantage of them for my own selfish survival?! Well, it’s time I learn my lesson. I’m going on a water STRIKE! I’m going to stop lighting stuff on fire. I’m not going outside anymore… I already don’t do that. I’m halfway there!

What if the elements were racist toward each other? That’s Elemental! Sorry, I should be more specific. What if there were Water, Earth, and Wind people that treated Fire people like they were Irish during the 19th Century? That’s Elemental! And if you think I’m joking- I’m not. The Fire even has merchandise that says “Kiss Me I’m Firish” and they all live on their own block in Element City. It’s interesting Disney/Pixar would choose the angry orange characters to represent the Irish. I’m kidding! I’m kidding! I’m KIDDING! Buildings have signs banning them from entry. What’s odd about this as a modern day metaphor is that there really isn’t a modern equivalent for that? Would it be No Smoking signs? The Fire characters are a mix of whatever ethnicity you want to pull from them. I’m surprised the signs don’t say “Firish Need Not Apply”. The Fire characters symbolize the classic immigrant experience: once you were in a place that was probably as hot as the sun and then you were in a place where you can light other people on fire by touching them. Am I being too literal? Or is this movie’s metaphor just really dumb? Perhaps a middle ground can be found (we’re both dumb). There are four types of Elements in Element City. Did they forget about the Periodic Table? Or is that being saved for a series of Elemental Disney+ Shorts? Will I get to see Titanium racistly spit out “grrrr BORON!” with an acidic seethe? Only time will tell how the mighty Content Wheel spins! 

We follow Fire (her name is NOT Ella Mental) as she finds a Water Romeo and causes RIPPLES! (Joke I may have plagiarized from the movie itself). Ember (her actual name) is part of an immigrant family and has a father who’s really racist toward water. Why? Have you ever seen what a firefighter does? Fire & Water: a significant part of cooking your spaghetti has evolved into a forbidden romance. I can feel my molecules vibrating just thinking about it! Due to poor city planning, Water has broken out of a dam and enters Fire Town. Ember’s explosive anger bursts some pipes in her father’s shop after dealing with the common (frustrating) customer. Ember dealing with the obnoxious shoppers is the most relatable portion of the film. Not a bad way to get you on the protagonist’s side. As for the dam-breakage, you may ask “Is there a grand conspiracy involving this water dam breakage that forces the main characters to go straight to the TOP?” Nope. Zootopia already did Chinatown! From a pipe emerges emotional aqua boy Wade Ripple (okay, so I did plagiarize the movie with that one joke). From there, the love FLOWS!!!! So, the story settles for a forbidden romance plot. The metaphor is weak seasoning on a trope-filled story. Having grown up in the Pixar Gold Age, I’ve been hardwired to expect more intuitive storytelling from their films.

The film’s humor is playful and punny. The gags got a chuckle out of me every now and then. The humor has zippy pacing which fits the film. I’m a sucker for fun puns. That’s something this movie has going for it. Even if the world feels small and unexplored, it still has plenty of visual gags and playful humor. I may not buy a sweater that says “Kiss Me I’m Firish” but I will go “hm. heh.” when the Cloud sports team names are fart jokes. If only the movie could have more fun with its plot, a series of the Pixar tropes that everyone on Earth has come to recognize (seems like Sausage Party didn’t put a stop to anything which means we will inevitably get a series of Sausage Party shorts featuring the residents of Poop City. DISCLAIMER: I am NOT advocating for this). 

Elemental is like the cold leftovers of old Pixar movie pitches. If there were more meat on this bone, like an interesting plot or characters, it would be easier to overlook the shallow metaphor and dry storytelling (at least Zootopia distracts from its bad metaphor with a fun buddy-noir plot). After the confusing brand-based bomb Lightyear, this is Pixar’s attempt to Keep it Simple, Stupid. Elemental is self-parody done wrong. No self-awareness.

4/10