Elemental

Element City is a thriving metropolis. It is shown that water showed up first. Land came next. Air followed. Fire was the last to arrive. A hierarchy emerged. Fire is marginalized as the municipality was not designed in their best interest. The different elements live in mostly segregated spaces. Any similarities to New York City are purely intentional.

Not all elements interact the same. Water extinguishes fire. A hot flame evaporates water. The mingling of these two can be combustible. So when hot-tempered Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) and “go-with-the-flow” Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) meet, falling in love is entirely out of the question. Of course, that’s precisely what happens.

Elemental employs the classic Boy Meets Girl narrative, a rom-com where opposites attract. There’s nothing wrong with convention if your characters are captivating. However, this is Pixar, where qualities like “straightforward” and “traditional” are frowned upon. The high concept premise depicts these disparate denizens as an analog to the immigrant experience. When Ember’s parents arrive (Ronnie del Carmen & Shila Ommi), it’s like docking at Ellis Island. They must change their names to something more pronounceable (Bernie and Cinder). No one wants to rent an apartment to them because fire presents a physical danger. The foods they sell at their little convenience store are strange delicacies. You get the idea.

The animation is astonishing. Ember is this constantly shimmering flame. Wade is this translucent liquid mass with a rolling ocean hairstyle atop his head. In one memorable moment, Ember shows off how she burns assorted colors depending on what mineral she touches. Wade responds by running across a pond, causing a splash up into the sunlight, making a rainbow. Their love is palpable, and I felt their emotional connection briefly. That feeling is fleeting.

Ultimately Elemental unfolds as a trite tale comprised of banal personalities. Wade is a drip. Ember is a hothead. She’s the focus — an abrasive individual who considers pleasing her dad while also listening to her heart. It’s no surprise what wins out. Director Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur) was born to Korean immigrant parents in New York. They came to America in the late 1960s and ran a bodega-style grocery store in the Bronx. Elemental is a tale born from director Peter Sohn’s background. Still, it’s hard not to see this as a lighter version of Zootopia, Disney’s far more nuanced and thoughtful mediation on the cohabitation of “predator and prey.”

Elemental could have been better. I mentioned the glorious animation, and it bears another mention. Also, the score by Thomas Newman (Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Finding Dory) — his fourth in a Pixar film — is delightful. But the generic climax is a big yawn. The glass that Ember created to seal the broken dam breaks, unleashing a massive flash flood toward Fire Town. The more compelling love story takes an unnecessary back seat in the third act and detours into developments akin to The Day After Tomorrow. The disaster movie theatrics do find their way back to the rom-com drama. But by then, I had a burning desire to extinguish their flame.

06-20-23