Elemental
Directed by Peter Sohn
Written by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel and Brenda Huesh
Starring: Leah Lewis, Mamadou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Catherine O’Hara
Certificate: PG
UK Release Date: 7th July 2023
As the late 1990s and the 2000s become increasingly distant, the recent trajectory of Pixar Animation Studios is one that has become increasingly disappointing. Having previously been constantly pushing the boundaries of animated storytelling, the majority of their 2010s and early 2020s output has felt remarkably safe, be it through the multitude of sequels to their existing successes or stories which indulged in narrative tropes very familiar for the company. While there have been unmitigated triumphs such as Inside Out (2015), Coco (2017) and Soul (2020), entries like Cars 2 (2011) and Lightyear (2022) demonstrated their susceptibility to the corporate vice grip of Disney, something which doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. With studios such as DreamWorks and Sony Pictures Animation boldly experimenting with the medium and embracing a level of maturity in their narratives, the former undisputed champions of CGI are largely lagging behind their contemporaries. In the case of Elemental however, its financial underperformance in the wake of an underwhelming Cannes premiere and a blasé marketing campaign has been arguably pitiable. A passion project for director Peter Sohn (having previously been beset by the troubled production and box-office bombing of The Good Dinosaur (2015), inspired by his upbringing as a child of Korean immigrants in New York in the 1970s, the final result is a film which undeniably has an incredible amount of fiery passion poured into it, but is sadly dampened by its adherence to tradition.
Fire elements Bernie and Cinder Lumen (del Carmen and Ommi) immigrate from Fireland to the multicultural metropolis of Element City, in which water, earth and air residents all live in harmony with each other. Years later, having been treated with hostility from the rest of the community, their daughter Ember (Lewis) is poised to become the new manager of Bernie’s convenience store the Fireplace, despite her difficulties in controlling her temper around customers. But when a broken pipe in the building alerts city maintenance inspector Wade Ripple (Athie), the two opposing elements must find a way of saving the Lumen family business, while in turn forming a romantic relationship despite the supposed inability of elements mixing with each other.
From a brief outline of its story content, the immediate assumption would be that Elemental is a film which possesses a level of maturity akin to films like The Incredibles (2004) or Ratatouille (2007), and while its heavy allegories of racism and xenophobia towards immigrants run deep within the text, the screenplay is held back by a sense of childishness. Most of the more deliberate attempts at humour clash badly with the rest of the tone, largely due to the overreliance on obvious element puns and baffling innuendos (such as the infamous “pruning” joke showcased in the trailers). Most egregious in this regard is the side character of Clod, whose sole purpose for existing, other than for Disney to try and merchandise and market him to death, is to repeat the same unfunny joke about him having a crush on Ember despite being a child and showing off his first flower growth three times over, and all it does is grind the pace to a halt when he could be taken out of the narrative and absolutely nothing would be lost. As the film goes on, Ember and Wade’s romance develops and the culture clash angle gains prominence, the comedy becomes far less pronounced and some of the later attempts at humour are genuinely amusing, but the concessions made towards a younger audience make the first act difficult to get into, a problem also suffered from by The Good Dinosaur.
While Elemental is not the first animated film to use its anthropomorphic world as an allegory for modern day prejudices (Disney having already done so with Zootropolis (2016)), its implementation ends up feeling clumsy. Because the film has to establish so many rules and so much lore as to how this society of elements works, the script isn’t able to get across some of the finer details with the clarity needed for them to be believable, such as in the use of terms such as “fireball” and “cloudpuff” as the equivalents of racial slurs without setting up why these terms enrage the characters when used. This also extends to the driving conflict between Ember and Bernie in the form of the latter’s prejudice against water elements, the reasoning for which is only inferable through what’s showcased of the upper-class lifestyle of Wade’s family, in addition to not getting directly resolved by the end of the narrative. This is not to say that the allegory isn’t important or that it flat out doesn’t work, as proven by the runaway success the film has become in Korea, but rather the non-human lens of a very real societal issue ends up ultimately diluting its potential. With films such as Entergalactic (2022) having proven that animated romantic dramas about regular people can be investing and believable, Pixar’s concession towards sanitising the potency of their themes ends up positioning it as just another templated anthropomorphic object film.
However, it’s when it comes to the central romance between Ember and Wade that the chemistry of Sohn’s vision truly comes to life. Despite following a very predictable template in terms of the how the sequence of events plays out, there is an undeniable level of sweetness and sincerity between the two and the contrast in their personalities with Ember’s hotheaded nature and Wade’s emotional vulnerability. The pacing of the relationship feels pitch perfect, and most of the romance narrative staples such as Ember’s first time meeting Wade’s parents are played without the usual level of embarrassment and cringe that comes from It helps that the vocal performances of Leah Lewis and Mamadou Athie respectively are brimming with personality without being forced, Athie in particular proving impressive considering one of Wade’s defining character traits is his ability to cry over the smallest things, which could have proven disastrously grating in the hands of a lesser actor. Refreshingly the film doesn’t rely on a celebrity voice cast in order to carry itself, with regular Pixar animator Ronnie del Carmen giving a multi-layered performance as Bernie, even if the decision to have the character speak in slightly grammatically broken English does feel somewhat reductive.
Where Pixar truly brings their A-game to Elemental is in the quality of its animation, as it’s among their most visually impressive works to date. The size and scope of Element City borders on awe-inspiring, with intricately constructed architecture and a veritable smorgasbord of unique character designs that make every citizen stand out from each other, minor or major. The lighting and texture effects for the four element types are also worthy of note, with minute details such as the blending of flame colours when Ember loses her temper or Wade’s translucence allowing for background objects to be seen through him and light to be reflected off his body bordering on photorealistic. While my personal preferences lean towards the more distinctly stylized aesthetics of films such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) or Nimona (2023), it’s undeniable just how much technical firepower Pixar have behind them and the level of talent that goes into their work. The score provided by Finding Nemo (2003) and Wall-E (2008) composer Thomas Newman is also a highlight, manging to constantly shift moods between mystifying, energetic and heartfelt whenever the situation calls for it, even if Lauv’s “Steal the Show” which scores the ending credits is an average piece of radio filler.
Upon reflecting on Elemental and its underperformance both critically and financially, I feel an incredible amount of sympathy for Peter Sohn now that he’s been responsible for two financial failures for Pixar, and given their recent firings of some of their longest serving staff members I sincerely hope the same fate doesn’t befall him, as it’s clear that he’s a filmmaker who truly puts his heart and soul into everything he does. Though nowhere near close to the studio’s best work, it carries the same level of visual polish that they’re known for, has a well-developed romance with likeable leads at its centre, even if it is very familiarly structured, and while the method it chooses to convey its central allegory is flawed, it’s nevertheless an important one for younger audiences to understand. Which is why it’s so extremely frustrating that it feels as if either Pixar or Disney had no trust in the children they’re catering towards to understand its subtext, on top of pandering to the lowest common denominator with forced humour and intrusive marketable side characters that are so tonally at odds with the heavy subject matter. It may not feel as directly targeted as something from Illumination, but it’s demonstrative that in order for not just Pixar, but Disney as a whole to improve, they need to not just let go of their affinity for nostalgia and brand recognition, but go in bold new directions with the types of stories they choose to tell and dabble in a wider variety of visual styles to make their films stand out again. Essentially, they need to live out of their element.
Elemental belongs to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All images featured within this review are in accordance with Fair Use.
No Ordinary Joe Reviews 