Movie Review: Elemental

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

Pixar's first rom-com is very good. If it doesn't measure up to the studio's previous films, that is only because Pixar has set the bar so high. 

At its heart this is a love story and as such it works very well. Ember (who is made of fire) and Wade (who is made of water) fall in love despite the fact that such a thing has not been done before (this is obviously a not too subtle look at racism and inter-racial relationships). The two characters have wonderful chemistry with each other, and their romance comes off as more believable than half the romance movies starring humans. This is because the movie does not rush into the romance, but instead lets the characters naturally grow into it after spending time together. The way this plays out feels completely real. You cannot pinpoint the exact moment in which they fall in love with each other, but instead you as an audience member simply grow naturally into accepting it. This quite simply put is how you do a romance in a movie just right and something makers of live action romantic comedies can definitely learn from. This makes it so even with how cliché the story can get, you still have an emotional attachment to it. 

This film also shows very well Pixar doing what it does best. This is building a fantasy world that feels completely believable. Once you stop to think about it little of the world these elements live in doesn't make much sense, but as you are watching the movie, you completely believe that this place is real. This is due partly to all the little details that show how certain things work in this world. These are often shown in tiny moments but these tiny moments make a big difference. This sense of atmosphere is also shown in the great visuals of this film. There was obviously so much work that went into this artwork and it is felt in every single scene. Yet as wonderful as the artwork is it is always in service to the story and the setting. 

It is strange to say that one of the weakest parts about a Pixar movie is the humor, the humor here could have been a lot better. I found myself not really laughing that much watching this film. Most every gag felt like something Pixar had done before and done better in the past. There were some jokes that really made me smile, but shockingly I never once really laughed. Also, while this is Pixar's first rom-com that does not mean this story really does much that we haven't seen before. In fact, the story feels very familiar and from pretty early on we can guess just how this movie is going to end. The story is done well but this can't stop it from feeling familiar. 

While this may not be one of Pixar's best it is a very good movie on its own terms.

This feature film is proceeded by a delightful short film called Carl's Date. This short film is a bit of a sequel to the wonderful Pixar movie, Up (2009). It is even directed by Bob Petersen who directed that feature (he also provided the voice for Dug). As much as I enjoyed Elemental, I may have liked this short even more. This short film is everything that I love about Pixar. It is charming, funny and digs into deep emotions in a way that only Pixar can. This short film was funny, silly and playful for most of the length. However, the final moments really hit me hard emotionally. Honestly this short would be worth the price of admission alone. This short was originally planned to be part of the Disney + streaming series, Dug Days but it was decided instead to release it to movie theaters and it is easy to see why.