Pixar’s latest animated feature film falls far from the mark with an overdone story, forgettable characters, and a one-dimensional sense of humour, writes Kas Ellis.
Elemental is a bit like a puddle. You walk through it, think ‘huh’, think about it for about a minute, then move on with your life. If you’re prepared for what’s to come, weirdly, it’s even less impactful. The movie is unsure of itself, kind of sloppy, and borders boring. Which is a shame for a studio as well respected as Pixar.
Directed by Peter Stohn, the movie follows two anthropomorphic elements and their forbidden love. Wade, a bit of a puddle himself, voiced by Mamoudou Athie, and Ember (Leah Lewis) – who’s not as fiery as her name suggests – are not allowed to be together because they are a water elemental and a fire elemental. And really, that’s all you have to know.
It’s another take on Romeo and Juliet, really. The intention, I imagine, is to portray the struggles of an inter-racial couple. But Pixar’s dip into a romantic comedy pulls up a bit short in all the areas it doesn’t want to.
It’s beyond predictable. You just know that the characters will have some magical moment that will break the rules of their world so that they can be together from the minute that rule is established. You also know that the tragic ending won’t remain all that tragic for long. The story is cut and dry.
And so are the characters: loveable idiot and his much more competent female partner. After watching this dynamic unfold for what feels like the thousandth time, it’s almost painful how little there is to say about this. And it doesn’t have the charm the writers clearly think it does.
The word ‘charm’ doesn’t have much of a place in this movie in general. From the grating visual style that hurt my eyes, to the overabundance of puns from whichever type of element is currently speaking, to the uninspiring storylines… it’s just a bit of a wash.
There’s a really sweet flashback of Ember’s parents moving to the city and facing the troubles of immigration that I think is handled really well, based on Sohn’s real experience as a child of immigrants, but that’s all the praise I have to sing for this animated movie.
From a studio that has produced so many classics, seeing them fall short hurts. So unless you have a ‘burning’ desire to see Elemental, I’d recommend against it.