Pixar is a studio with proven form in telling heartfelt, impactful stories through the highest of concepts — a girl transforming into a giant red panda as she reaches puberty (Turning Red); an after-life littered with pastel-blue blobs, heading to The Great Beyond on a massive conveyor belt (Soul); emotions portrayed as walking, talking entities, battling over their owner’s personality in a big control room (the unmatched Inside Out). Elemental follows that thread, the characters here all made up of one of the four core elements (fire, air, water, earth), living together in ‘Element City’. Except, they’re not really living together — because of the harm the different elements pose to each other, they simply don’t mix.
The focus is on Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis), a literal hot mess, working hard with her father Bernie (Ronnie Del Carmen) at their family store in Fire Town. Bernie hopes for Ember to take over the business soon, so that he can finally retire, if only she could keep her temperature in check when dealing with customers. Yes, the Fire people are hotheads, Ember hotter than most, and her inability to control her emotions and make deeper connections with people often leads to mini explosions behind the counter. One of these meltdowns brings weepy Water guy Wade (Mamoudou Athie) into the shop, with a mysterious leak spelling potentially fatal trouble for the residents of Fire Town.
Where Elemental really sizzles is in its central pair’s chemistry (literally).
The film opens with Ember’s parents coming to Element City years before she was born. They face their culture and customs being stripped from them, rejection from home after home, and start their own business to build community amongst the Fire people, and give their daughter the life they never had. This is an immigrant tale, moving into broader themes about otherness, integration, prejudice, class and more. Fire people are seen as harmful and dangerous, are turned away from institutions, and are forced to congregate outside the city — which, as Ember says, “isn’t made with Fire people in mind”. The metaphor is as subtle as a sledgehammer, but that’s surely the point — and whilst on-the-nose at times, it’s kind of incredible that Elemental is able to communicate huge societal concepts like these to young audiences through such a clean, easy-to-grasp analogy.
If that all sounds heavy, though, fret not. There’s a ton of fun to be had with the elemental concept — Wade struggling to eat Ember’s native hot food; a sport called airball, with a team named ‘The Wind-Breakers’, plus the slogan “It’s tootin’ time”; Ember’s flames changing hues as she dances across coloured minerals; Wade getting sucked into a sponge as a baby. There are puns galore, the script and production design really making the most of every opportunity for an element-based laugh.
As beautifully rendered as Element City and its residents are, there is a lot going on. Flashbacks, backstory and plot strands are crowbarred in left, right and centre — some pay off wonderfully, most fall by the wayside. Despite being the central characters, the somewhat crude design of Ember and the Fire people feels incongruent against their intricately detailed clothing and surroundings. The dialogue is simplistic; though ‘family-friendly’ is of course Pixar’s bent, Elemental is one that feels particularly for the kids.
Where Elemental really sizzles is in its central pair’s chemistry (literally). Mamoudou Athie uses the full range of that extraordinary voice, evoking hysterics and sincerity with equal ease. He’s matched well by Leah Lewis, and together they provide what feels like Pixar’s first romcom, complete with awkward first dates and meeting the parents, all with an added layer of jeopardy around what would happen if they were to touch. Wade’s emotional depth and Ember’s relatable story make for a strong connection, and, once again, Pixar demonstrates its ability to hit you in the feels.
