About the film (courtesy of Disney • PIXAR):
An all-new, original feature film set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.
Disney • PIXAR have had a lot of success over the years, pretty much dominating the world of animation with every offering that has hit theaters, with Lightyear (2022) being the most lackluster of the bunch in recent history. But even that wasn’t a bad movie in relation to normal standards, it’s just that Disney • PIXAR has been setting the animated standard for years and years. I’m going to give a little something away in this short, review right off the top. Elemental is going to have its work cut out for itself if it expects to reach the levels of previous studio entries.
Elemental is another original story, and kudos to Disney • PIXAR for still stoking the creative fire to bring audiences something new. A recent example that worked really well in this regard is Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto (2021), which played to both critics and fans alike while going on to win an Oscar for Best Animated Film. Conversely, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Strange World (2022) came up short in the admiration category while disappointing in its box office performance.
Disney • PIXAR are rolling the dice on Elemental in that they hope that they can do for the elements what Inside Out (2015) did for emotions. The story is entertaining enough to keep audiences’ interests throughout much of the movie, however it does bog down at points feeling a bit forced.
The concept of the story and what it’s attempting to convey is the same as we’ve seen time and time again, only this time with different characters, and that’s okay. These types of stories help reinforce the goodness that can be achieved in the world and we can never have too much of that, especially when it’s being focused on younger audiences. And speaking of the young ones, Elemental may be a bit too mundane for the littles to get amped up about, but there are some aspects that they should enjoy.
The voice actors do a decent job in bringing their characters to life, though there aren’t too many recognizable voices that will have you raising an eyebrow to. The animation on Elemental is pretty well done and there are lots of little fun things for an astute eye to spy throughout pretty much the entirety of the film. I don’t know if this is good or bad that I spent more time looking at the background than the foreground.
In the end, Elemental is a decent animated adventure that lacks an ingredient needed to really hook its viewers. It’s passable, but not one of Disney • PIXAR’S finest offerings. And the runtime of 103 minutes feels a touch long for its intended audience. Still though, it’s not a terrible choice if you’re looking for a family film this Father’s Day weekend.
You can see Elemental only in theaters this Friday, June 16th, with early showings starting Thursday at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
