An underwhelming effort from a company that seems to have fallen behind the curve. Creatively it’s pulling too much from _Zootopia_ and _Inside Out_ while not adding much of its own flavour, almost every choice in this movie is predictable. Sure, the racism/prejudice commentary is more aggressive now that we’ve entered the post-Trump era (seriously, you should go back and look at how _Zootopia_ handled that same topic, it feels quaint now), but besides that it doesn’t bring much to the table. The worldbuilding lacks the clever intricacies of _Zootopia_, the pretty animation style has some unique textures but it’s no _Across the Spider-verse_, and emotionally it feels more like Illumination than Pixar. It’s a very straightforward, cheesy romcom with a formulaic set-up for the main characters (think _Notting Hill, Crazy Rich Asians_, and countless other movies your mom loves), some ok comedy (bad puns notwithstanding) and a boring adventure (fixing pipelines, how exciting). The score’s pretty interesting because it seems to pull a lot from Indian folk music, on the other hand the songs sound generic and overproduced. Overall, I’d easily recommend this over some other animated films from this year, as this does genuinely try as a movie. However, that doesn’t change that I expect both children and adults to be mostly bored by this.

4.5/10

My four (few months shy of 5) year old and I loved this movie! She usually won’t sit through a whole movie without wanting to play or colour partway through unless it’s something she really loves (i.e. Frozen lol) but this movie held her attention start to finish. She told me she loves the fire girl the best haha. The animation was wonderful in 3D and she even let out some little gasps of awe and excitement which was adorable :’) This was her first movie in a movie theatre and she loved the experience! As the adult, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie as well. While it may not always have the most original storyline, I personally felt it stands alone and is unique in its own beautiful ways. The story this movie tells is so touching and it opened my eyes to a new perspective and lived experience. I honestly could relate to different aspects of it as a white woman who knows nothing of the struggles BIPOC face. I believe the message of love and following your passions while trying to balance the want/need to respect and honour those who have made it possible for you to chase those dreams is a universal one. No matter your race, sexuality, economic background - we all dream, we all love, we all hurt, we all experience loss and we all have fears holding us back. I personally lost track of how often I cried and my four year old even shed a few tears as well! If you can manage to keep an open mind through this, I highly recommend it. One of my new favs from this year for sure!

Apart from outstanding animation (love the playoff part), good music and romcom, the film depicts migration because of natural disaster, how the migrants adapt to a new place and even elemental discrimination to an extent. The fire people live in a separate area apart from other elements, and I notice that the place is very outdated compared to the city of other 3 elements and also vulnerable to disasters as well. At some point the 2 protagonist find out about the cause of leaking water in the fire district, which is motor oil, and ngl this part is a bit lacking in depth. I wish they could venture more about this problem but maybe that would be too long. Moreover, the discrimination to fire people is very straightforward, with them forbidden from many places to the city with almost no sight of fire. I love that the movie also talks about generational conflict, especially in migrant families with the dilemma of your dream vs your family responsibility. The love of the 2 protagonist is adorable too, I enjoyed it a lot. All in all, a meaningful and lighthearted film to sit back and enjoy. Oh, and Wade is such a cool guy (get it?).

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.firstshowing.net/2023/review-elemental-is-a-thematically-rich-inter-element-love-story/

"Pixar's Elemental may be straightforward and predictable, but it's so thematically rich and features such emotionally relatable characters that, by the end, I found myself fighting back tears. It features a visually stunning inter-element love story mixed with a beautiful journey of self-discovery. The outstanding world-building is once again a highlight, as are the numerous exceptionally enlightening visual details about the interaction between the different elements. Emigration, discrimination, and family ideals are some of the many essential topics addressed.

I don't understand the criticism surrounding the alleged "fall of Pixar" and this latest movie. I will continue to enjoy these stories, and I highly recommend that viewers try to do the same, without worrying about incessantly comparing to what came before."

Rating: A-

"Ember" and her ailing grandfather arrive in the big city where everyone is personified as one of the four natural elements. Needless to say, fire is not the most popular but they resolve to open their shop selling all things smoked, toasted, burnt, and red hot! It's an old building, though, and when one day the pipes give birth to the local, watery, buildings inspector "Wade" she discovers that they have no planning permission for their business and that he is going to have to report them. What now ensues is, sadly, a rather unimaginative series of escapades as she must track him down and stop him - and the authorities - from closing down the family's flaming enterprise. The animation is characterful and top notch - and the story certainly had potential, but somehow the thing just becomes a bit of a cheesy romance all too quickly. A lot more fun could have been had demonstrating just how incompatible the four - air, earth, water and fire - can be when mixed together; or - indeed - how symbiotic they can be, but the emphasis and the dialogue focusses just a bit too much on "Ember" and "Wade" and I am afraid that I rather lost interest. It's colourful and vibrant, there is some entertaining action with plenty of pyrotechnics and is worth a watch, but it will look just as good on the television and doesn't live up to the hype, sorry