Elemental (2023)
Once standing at the very top of the world of western animation, Pixar has undeniably suffered in recent years from both a more competitive animated release schedule and a choice by Disney to release multiple Pixar features as Disney+ originals rather than giving them their expected theatrical release. Despite this, Pixar has continued to pump out strong features of emotion and meaning with recent standouts including Onward, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red. Back in the theatrical space after the disappointing release of Lightyear, Pixar has found its next masterpiece in Peter Sohn's Elemental.
On the outside, Elemental appears to be a story all too familiar. Set in Element City where individuals from all the 4 major elements live together, with Fire residents being the newest to the city and being pushed to the outskirts of town, it seems like Elemental might be another generic film using this fictionalized world to highlight the problems with prejudice and racism, similar to films such as Zootopia, the film finds a tender heart as it explores a more personal and focused story with one of the most effective romances of Pixar history.
While prejudice and racism are undeniably factors within Elemental's narrative, the angle of focus is quite direct. The story centers around a fire element named Ember (Leah Lewis) whose parents were two of the first fire elements to come to Element City. Together, they built their own shop named The Fireplace and from there, a community of Fire Elements formed and built lives for themselves. Since her birth, Ember has lived to eventually take over ownership of the shop run by her father but a chance meeting with a water element named Wade (Mamoudou Athie) throws the future of not just the physical shop but her entire feature pathway into question. What results is a rather stunning look at the unique pressures and emotions of the immigrant experience with special attention given to the sacrifice made by those who choose to leave their old lives behind for a brighter future and the stresses from their children to repay them and live up to their expectations. Without ever feeling overly forced or cliched, Ember slowly opens up regarding her place in this journey and develops an incredibly moving character arc.
Playing against this is the romance she begins with Wade. In an incredibly refreshing move, rather than these two characters slowly developing their chemistry over the film only to finally acknowledge their romantic interest at the very end of the feature, Elemental allows these characters to express their love for each-other rather early in the runtime allowing time for dates and a more clear back and forth as they try to figure out what kind of future they could have with each-other. Without a doubt, this relationship is one of the most tender to ever come from Pixar. There are multiple scenes of palpable emotion that simply sees these two characters embrace or look at each-other with love. It is often quiet and poignant in a way rarely seen in films designed for younger audiences with a maturity that hits powerfully. The most moving sequences of the film come from this relationship and the chemistry shared between Lewis and Athie is only icing on the cake. Rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel or create a narrative that transcends what has been seen in romantic stories like this, the film wisely embraces a cleaner and more grounded pathway that feels like a callback to old narratives in the best of ways. As seen in projects like Top Gun: Maverick. When done correctly and with true inspiration and craft, a more classic narrative pathway can lead to wonderful results with Elemental finding a perfect mixture between a more classic story and giving a new modern spin to the perspectives being explored.
The connective tissue between these two sides of the film is a plot about a damaged wall that sees unexpected water flood into the area of the city where the Fire Elements live. While one might expect this plot to lead to a bigger development, it remains a side factor without much payoff or purpose beyond giving Ember and Wade a reason to interact with each-other. This is easily the least engaging side to the feature, but its place in the background never allows it to distract or become too major of a narrative force.
Going from the narrative strength of the film to the technical side of filmmaking, the animation within Elemental is stunning. While Pixar has long tried to perfect creating photorealistic worlds that can replicate the real world, seeing a work with such style and visual personality is immediately more impactful and memorable. Element City is stunning to explore with much of the same creativity seen in films like Zootopia making their way into this project. Seeing how these elements live together and leave their individual marks on the design and function of the city is immediately engaging. The character animation is also rather strong with a really fresh eye for texture and shape. The use of color is also especially marvelous.
It would be a disservice to also not mention the film's score by the legendary Thomas Newman. Thoughtful and specific, the score is used flawlessly throughout the feature. At every turn, the score is masterfully used, or turned off, to increase the emotional impact and weight of various scenes. These elements come together to create a technically impressive film that moves through its 110-minute runtime with ease. At no point does the film feel like it goes down a side plot or twist that is unneeded or frustrating. Instead, the film is clean and has no wasted space which is something that even Pixar on its best days can't always claim.
Elemental is undoubtedly the next Pixar masterpiece. With a meaningful perspective, effective narrative, and stunning technical ability, it is hard to find even a single place where the film truly delivers something disappointing or bad. While Pixar has impressed with other recent features, none have found the perfection that is seen within Elemental with the film deserving of attention and praise.
On the outside, Elemental appears to be a story all too familiar. Set in Element City where individuals from all the 4 major elements live together, with Fire residents being the newest to the city and being pushed to the outskirts of town, it seems like Elemental might be another generic film using this fictionalized world to highlight the problems with prejudice and racism, similar to films such as Zootopia, the film finds a tender heart as it explores a more personal and focused story with one of the most effective romances of Pixar history.
While prejudice and racism are undeniably factors within Elemental's narrative, the angle of focus is quite direct. The story centers around a fire element named Ember (Leah Lewis) whose parents were two of the first fire elements to come to Element City. Together, they built their own shop named The Fireplace and from there, a community of Fire Elements formed and built lives for themselves. Since her birth, Ember has lived to eventually take over ownership of the shop run by her father but a chance meeting with a water element named Wade (Mamoudou Athie) throws the future of not just the physical shop but her entire feature pathway into question. What results is a rather stunning look at the unique pressures and emotions of the immigrant experience with special attention given to the sacrifice made by those who choose to leave their old lives behind for a brighter future and the stresses from their children to repay them and live up to their expectations. Without ever feeling overly forced or cliched, Ember slowly opens up regarding her place in this journey and develops an incredibly moving character arc.
Playing against this is the romance she begins with Wade. In an incredibly refreshing move, rather than these two characters slowly developing their chemistry over the film only to finally acknowledge their romantic interest at the very end of the feature, Elemental allows these characters to express their love for each-other rather early in the runtime allowing time for dates and a more clear back and forth as they try to figure out what kind of future they could have with each-other. Without a doubt, this relationship is one of the most tender to ever come from Pixar. There are multiple scenes of palpable emotion that simply sees these two characters embrace or look at each-other with love. It is often quiet and poignant in a way rarely seen in films designed for younger audiences with a maturity that hits powerfully. The most moving sequences of the film come from this relationship and the chemistry shared between Lewis and Athie is only icing on the cake. Rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel or create a narrative that transcends what has been seen in romantic stories like this, the film wisely embraces a cleaner and more grounded pathway that feels like a callback to old narratives in the best of ways. As seen in projects like Top Gun: Maverick. When done correctly and with true inspiration and craft, a more classic narrative pathway can lead to wonderful results with Elemental finding a perfect mixture between a more classic story and giving a new modern spin to the perspectives being explored.
The connective tissue between these two sides of the film is a plot about a damaged wall that sees unexpected water flood into the area of the city where the Fire Elements live. While one might expect this plot to lead to a bigger development, it remains a side factor without much payoff or purpose beyond giving Ember and Wade a reason to interact with each-other. This is easily the least engaging side to the feature, but its place in the background never allows it to distract or become too major of a narrative force.
Going from the narrative strength of the film to the technical side of filmmaking, the animation within Elemental is stunning. While Pixar has long tried to perfect creating photorealistic worlds that can replicate the real world, seeing a work with such style and visual personality is immediately more impactful and memorable. Element City is stunning to explore with much of the same creativity seen in films like Zootopia making their way into this project. Seeing how these elements live together and leave their individual marks on the design and function of the city is immediately engaging. The character animation is also rather strong with a really fresh eye for texture and shape. The use of color is also especially marvelous.
It would be a disservice to also not mention the film's score by the legendary Thomas Newman. Thoughtful and specific, the score is used flawlessly throughout the feature. At every turn, the score is masterfully used, or turned off, to increase the emotional impact and weight of various scenes. These elements come together to create a technically impressive film that moves through its 110-minute runtime with ease. At no point does the film feel like it goes down a side plot or twist that is unneeded or frustrating. Instead, the film is clean and has no wasted space which is something that even Pixar on its best days can't always claim.
Elemental is undoubtedly the next Pixar masterpiece. With a meaningful perspective, effective narrative, and stunning technical ability, it is hard to find even a single place where the film truly delivers something disappointing or bad. While Pixar has impressed with other recent features, none have found the perfection that is seen within Elemental with the film deserving of attention and praise.