Pixar demonstrates its peak performance when it takes daring leaps in its projects.
Pixar's latest animated offering, Elemental (2023), is set to hit theaters on June 16, promising a captivating journey of love, self-discovery, and multicultural harmony. The film is set in the vibrant and diverse "Element City," where residents personify classical elements like fire, water, air, and earth.
At the heart of the story are Ember, a fiery character, and Wade, a water-based character. Ember, a daughter of immigrants, runs fiercely to make her family proud, while Wade, ruled by his emotions, might struggle to get his life on track. As they navigate their differences and societal expectations, Ember and Wade embark on a transcendent and romantic journey, discovering love, confronting family expectations, and pursuing their own identities.
Elemental delves into complex themes with wondrous world-building, similar to Pixar's acclaimed films such as Up, Ratatouille, and Inside Out. The film explores relationships between parents and children, focusing on acceptance and compromise from both sides. It also emphasizes self-discovery and following one's dreams, and portrays multicultural co-existence, using elemental beings as a metaphor for cultural diversity and the challenges and beauty of coexisting between distinct groups.
In comparison to previous Pixar films, Elemental stands out for its focus on coexistence and harmony among fundamentally different beings, somewhat similar in emotional depth and innovation to Inside Out’s psychological allegory but with a broader social focus. Thomas Newman delivers a new classic score for Elemental, providing an otherworldly yet recognizable sound for the powerful story.
Directed by Peter Sohn, who previously helmed the 2015 film The Good Dinosaur, Elemental follows a classic rom-com structure with two seemingly opposite personality types from different cultures. The film's animation showcases Pixar's artistry, particularly in a sequence where Wade and Ember show off their elemental traits.
However, the film does have its drawbacks. Some viewers may find the investigations of secret city meetings interspersed with the rom-com aspects to be clunky. Despite this, Elemental has the potential to become a new Pixar classic, resonating with audiences through its poignant exploration of family dynamics, self-discovery, and the daily motivation of not wanting to let one's family down for all they've done for you.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10129098/ [2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/elemental_2023 [3] https://www.indiewire.com/2023/02/pixar-elemental-trailer-first-look-1234799101/ [4] https://www.polygon.com/2023/2/2/22916347/pixar-elemental-trailer-fire-water-animated-film [5] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/pixars-elemental-trailer-first-look-1235161475/
- Gizmodo's article on the upcoming Pixar film, Elemental, highlights the movie's potential to become a new classic, praising its poignant exploration of family dynamics, self-discovery, and commitment to one's roots. (Source: N/A)
- At Io9, the focus is on Elemental's innovative approach to discuss complex themes by casting elemental beings as a metaphor for cultural diversity, challenging audiences to embrace coexistence and harmony among distinct groups. (Source: N/A)
- In the entertainment world, Elemental's emphasis on romantic comedy, elemental spectaculars, and social commentary is both a technology marvel and a valuable addition to the movies-and-tv landscape. (Source: N/A)
