The four elements – wind, water, fire, and earth – are the focus of Pixar’s animated romantic comedy Elemental. The fact the elements co-exist in the same city but in their own areas provides the setup for an unlikely romance.
Elemental opens with Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis), a fiery young woman, working at her father’s shop in Firetown that she’s destined to take over one day. But there’s just one problem… Ember has a bad temper and is quick to anger, which makes her terrible at dealing with customers, especially rude and obnoxious ones. Her father, Bernie (voiced by Ronnie Del Carmen), assures her that she’ll eventually get the hang of dealing with customers and get ahold of her temper.
Ember discovers a leak in the shop’s basement during a special sale at the shop, which is bizarre since the water to Firetown was shut off years ago. While trying to plug the leak, she finds Wade Ripple (voiced by Mamoudou Athie), a water person and building inspector who was physically drawn into the basement as part of the leak.
Wade spots several code violations that will shut down the store, and Ember desperately tries to convince him not to say anything, asking Wade for a break. Unfortunately, Wade doesn’t listen and runs off, saying it’s his job.
A chase begins that leads Ember out of the comfort and safety of Firetown and into other parts of Element City for the first time. Feeling bad about her situation, Wade takes Ember to see his boss to plead her case.
Wade’s boss is shocked that water is still getting into Firetown’s pipes. She tasks Wade and Ember with finding out how it’s happening and putting a stop to it. If they can get it done in a week, she’ll toss the violations.
As Wade and Ember begin to work together to carry out this mission, they start to be drawn to each other – even though fire and water don’t mix.
Directed by Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur), Pixar’s Elemental’s colorful visuals can’t overcome its two annoying lead characters and its boring rom-com plot. This is easily one of the worst films to come from Pixar Animation Studios.
Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie do a fine job bringing the characters of Ember and Wade to life. However, the problem is that both characters are unlikeable. Leah’s Ember is mean, rude, and insulting to Wade throughout most of the film, which makes her an unsympathetic and irritating character. Wade is too nice and sensitive to the point that his character becomes a glutton for punishment. And the focus on the budding romance between Ember and Wade is sure to bore kids in the audience due to the lack of action and excitement on the screen.
The writing’s weak, relying on running jokes and humor that are juvenile and stupid. A perfect example of this is that anything and everything makes Wade become overly emotional and cry himself a river. By the time Ember meets his family halfway through the film and his entire clan floods the rooms with their tears, the running joke’s become more cringe-worthy than funny.
Elemental is the most forgettable animated film to come from Pixar and is its biggest misfire.
GRADE: C-
MPAA Rating: PG for some thematic elements, some peril, and brief language
Running Time: 1 hour 43 minutes
Release Date: June 16, 2023
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