This review was originally part of our coverage for the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
It's a story as old as time: two characters from different and opposing cultures become star-crossed lovers and their love helps bridge the gap between people. Elemental is, at its core, a romantic comedy. While Disney Pixar joints have hinted at romance before, this is the first time the storyline has been so overtly romantic. The film follows the characters Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) and Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), a fire and water element respectively. After a comedic meet-cute, the two forge out on a mission together to uncover a mystery that is plaguing the fire neighborhood, but what really matters is the bond the two form.
'Elemental' Feels a Bit Too Similar to Another Disney Movie
There's nothing particularly awful about Elemental. It's beautifully animated, has a fantastic soundtrack courtesy of Thomas Newman, and the story is a heartwarming one about love, growth, and acceptance. However, there's also nothing particularly amazing about Elemental either. Set in a world where the elements of fire, water, earth, and air live together, the us versus them mentality of the other elements' prejudice against fire feels very familiar.
In fact, a lot of aspects of Elemental feel familiar to a certain other Disney film: Zootopia. From the fantasy world that personifies animals (in Elemental's case its elements) to the opposites attract dynamic between the leads, it's difficult not to draw direct comparisons to Disney's 2016 hit film. Sprawling shots of the cities make the two universes feel artistically linked. There's even a scene where Wade and Ember try to get information from a slow-moving earth element that works at Wade's office named Fern (Joe Pera). The slow-talking Fern feels distinctly similar to Zootopia's Flash (Raymond S. Persi), the "fastest" sloth working at the DMV.
The Use of the Immigrant Story Feels Overly Exaggerated
Conceptually, it makes sense that the two stories will share some similarities, but Elemental also feels very formulaic when looking closer at the story. Director Peter Sohn said that they drew inspiration from rom-coms like Moonstruck and You've Got Mail, and it's easy to see that. There won't be any big shocks when it comes to the romance between Wade and Ember and the film often leans into the stereotypes of the genre rather than away from them.
Ember's family immigrated from the fire land to start a new life, and her parents Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Ommi) feel like the cookie-cutter immigrant story. Of course, that's not to say that there is actually just one singular immigrant story as every person who immigrates has their own experience. But Elemental leans heavily into the not-so-subtle metaphor of the fire elements being the othered group of people in the city. They experience extreme discrimination as fire elements, they're sectioned into their own enclave in the city, and they even speak their own language.
It's obvious that Sohn and perhaps some of the other writers have an attachment to the immigrant story, and that's understandable. I was also raised by immigrants parents who came to the United States with little to nothing and had to work hard from the ground up, sacrificing along the way just so that I could have the life they never had. But, this is a familiar story that Elemental handles in a clumsy and ham-fisted way. Narratives about identity are important, but Elemental lacks the delicate nuance needed to tell these stories.
'Elemental' Is Visually Beautiful but Colors Inside the Lines
Story aside, there is no doubt that the animators have done a fantastic job when it comes to the animation of Elemental. The character design is fittingly adorable and unique. Watching the elements interact and use their elemental abilities to shape the land, specifically Ember's use of sand to create glass sculptures, is mesmerizing.
Scenes where we see Ember and Wade exploring a flooded tunnel or watch as Ember's flame changes color when she touches mineral rocks are pieces of art, especially when coupled with Newman's score. In many ways, it's a pity that the story is not as strong as the animation. The film's inability to color outside the lines makes a story that is undeniably endearing feel underwhelming, neither unique nor original.
Rating: C+
Elemental is in theaters starting June 16.