User reviews

This is the Pixar I know. I knew what kind of a story Elemental was going to be. From the IMDb plot and the reviews, I knew the cliches it would have and the route it will take. But this movie still really touched me.

I was really surprised by how well they executed the romance. And I'm surprised by the fact that Pixar made just a love story. I knew there was going to be romance in this but I thought, like most pixar movies, the main theme of this movie would be something else and the romance would progress on the sidelines. But no, the romance takes center stage in this film.

The main character, Ember, was very well written. She was likeable, relatable, and we as viewers experienced the entire story through her perspective. In comparison to Ember though, the side characters aren't as well explored as she is and that's the aspect of the movie that could've been a bit better.

But the romance is very good, honestly. It doesn't fit at first and feels a bit forced initially. That's why the 1st act of the movie isn't really as engaging. But the romance is paced perfectly. Because when these 2 characters started understanding more and more about each other, I started to really root for them and that's when this movie started to get really good. Amd the conclusion of the movie is very satisfying because of how well the romance is executed. The soundtrack too was very catchy and it worked perfectly with some specific moments of the film.

The theme though is cliche and it could have been done better. And the character of wade too could have been explored a bit more.

But in the end, I had a really nice time with this movie. You know, when a character is crying, and you just can't help but feel like crying yourself, that's when you know the movie has done its job.

Pixar had lost its way lately, but this film might get them back on track. This was a very sweet and wonderfully executed romance.

Elemental has several obvious glaring problems. For one thing, the attempt to make the elements' differences an overt metaphor for race/culture is shallow and misplaced at best most of the time.

The story's themes and plot itself are about as worn-out and tired as the art of the story itself. Not a single new idea is really explored at this level.

And, at the more surface level, the film's visuals vary greatly in quality: the environments are gorgeous, colorful, and vibrant, while the character designs appear haphazard, thrown together, and honestly kind of ugly.

But where this film shines-and I mean REALLY shines, surprisingly-is in the writing of its characters.

Ember and Wade are instantly distinct, understood, and likeable. They both grow tremendously and at a consistent pace. They are 110% the reason to see this film. I got emotionally wrapped up in their lives and desires in a way that I've only felt in Pixar's best films. This is the sole great achievement of Elemental.

The one other thing I can praise is the sound design and the musical score-both of which are largely powerful and memorable.

Maybe it's that my expectations were on the floor going into this, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Maybe wait to catch it on streaming, but don't write it off completely.

I've just watched it on a rainy night but it really entertained me even with my wet shoes! No matter what other media say, it has the familiar feeling pixar brought to me when i was a child, the kind of creativity, story-telling, and fabulous portray of an elemental city. Some may deem the plot as cliche and soup with draped with immigrant issue, but i think that make sense in a way director sohn want to tell and discuss in his movie. The most important, the reason i choose a pixar product is never want to be teached something at a cozy night, it's unfair to judge an animation for all-ages out of its depth, meaning and all, just enjoy it!

From that point, i think this movie has made it.

While very simplistic and predictable at all points, it is rather "cute".

It handles its emotional core very well, with the characterizations and voice-acting being the best part (as well as the excellent vibrant worldbuilding).. but the content is so sparse it makes the pacing feel sluggish and the film a tad long. As a romance, it's okay and delivers on its premise! The other layers, like the "looming threat", are a second-thought and a mark that needed to be checked.

As a Pixar movie and after 7 years of development? I'm not sure.. I guess I expected more from the narrative. Had this been done by a smaller and newer studio, I can imagine only praises. Maybe just say the smaller division did it!

Sadly, this is a perfect movie for streaming.

Visually the animation was really good. Literally Elemental was brilliant to watch. Also, have to admit that I was not expecting much from a movie about fire and water falling in love. Disney has always made movies for children in which they teach them to do whatever their heart desire through the story of a creature or an object that really should not or can't change it spots. Now they've picked the elements.

Elemental has more in-depth story about Immigrants I was not expecting in a Disney/Pixar movie. It was not hidden at all. Neither was the romance between fire and Ice which I was very different for these movies.

It was so different from what I expected, and it was refreshing.

In a world where beings of fire, water, air, and earth exist, Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) is a first generation fire elemental and daughter of immigrants Bernie and Cinder (Ronnie del Carmen and Shila Ommi respectively) who emigrated to Element City facing prejudice and systemic segregation to start a bodega, called The Fireplace, that is the unofficial hub of Firetown which Bernie hopes Ember will someday inherit. Ember routinely struggles to keep her temper with customers and during one such episode inadvertently damages an old water pipe which pulls in city inspector Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) from the other side of town and must reluctantly issue several citations on the bodega. After learning of Ember's struggles with trying to takeover The Fireplace from her ailing father, Wade feeling guilty over it tries to help Ember save The Fireplace as well as find out why there is water still running through Firetown when it shouldn't and eventually a romance blooms in spite of the historic incompatibility with fire and water.

Elemental is the latest film from Pixar and comes to us from director Peter Sohn who based the initial idea off his immigrant parents and based the underlying concept around the relationship between fire and water. The film was primarily based off of the structure of romantic comedies and dramas such as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and The Big Sick while also building those ideas around the core elemental one. In terms of execution Elemental does have some of the same issues of Sohn's The Good Dinosaur, but it is a nice light romance with a solid presentation of its core themes.

I'll start off by saying the opening scenes where we establish Element City and the characters of Bernie and Cinder are really good as we see them rejected by several prospective renters as despite Element City's history of welcoming immigrants as per the murals on the harbor, the fire elementals being the newest entrants to society are very much treated with hostility and prejudice. This sequence continues onward with the Lumen's eventually buying a neglected building an refurbishing it as their bodega and overtime it becoming the central point of Firetown. The animation used to bring the elementals and their world to life is nicely done as there's a lot of great details in the textures and movements of the characters with the distortions of water and the movement of fire and while on occasion the world building can seem a little spotty and doesn't feel as fully realized as Zootopia's, it does a good job of addressing systemic racism in communities. Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie are both really solid as Ember and Wade and their interactions with each other are complemented with some cute moments and amusing exchanges. I also rather liked the relationship with Ember and her father Bernie played by Ronnie del Carmen that while sweet does a good job of setting up the wedge issue.

While I think Elemental has good pieces in place, I did feel like some parts of the film felt underdeveloped especially in regards to a leak in Firetown responsible for the water seeping in that doesn't feel all that interesting and I felt like from a world building perspective it opened up some questions that the movie didn't really address. While Elemental has no villain in it, this is the kind of plot point that feels like it could've used a villain be it an unscrupulous developer or a construction firm rigging bids to add that little extra "something" that's missing from this plot point because it's a pretty big one and its not all that fleshed out.

I liked Elemental for the things that did genuinely work even if it stands in the shadows of others who've covered similar material. I think this is a much better project from Peter Sohn in comparison to The Good Dinosaur even if like that film there are still some flubs in the presentation of the central idea even if not to the extent The Good Dinosaur had them. But contrary to what people have said, this is not one of Pixar's worst movies especially when you consider the Cars trilogy and Lightyear exist.

Elemental

This tells the story of a water element and fire element falling in love; Elemental is a fresh spin on the opposites attract love story.

Themes of racial prejudice, systemic segregation, immigration and parental expectations are explored.

The biggest praise Elemental has is its leads. They're very distinct (not that surprising, seeing as they are different elements), and memorable; their love story is also told brilliantly. The relationship between the female lead and her father is also poignant, and drives the story and the decisions she takes, which ultimately provides a brilliant story arc for her character.

The animation of Elemental is rich and vibrant. The score is also great.

Elemental is sweet, funny and heartfelt (it drew a tear from me).

8.5-9/10.

People are reading wayyyy too much into this movie. It's an animated movie so chill. I never even saw a trailer for this movie before watching so I had no clue what it was about. Pretty standard kids movie with fun quirky characters. Every one reminded me of some one I know. I wasn't really into the first half of the movie but the second half really picks up. The visual effects team crushed it on this one. I mean they really made it look cool. I think people are going a little hard on Pixar right now. It's really not easy making a movie this social climate so hats off for even trying. We thought it was good and my daughter loved it.

I loved the colors so much, the charm, and great feel good vibes! Sure a lot goes wrong a lot like Buzzlightyear but it's way more satisfying and has lovely romance. To me it's one of the best kids movies I've seen this year besides Into the Spider-verse. I was a bit nauseas in the last half and been tired all day and still loved this a lot especially with the wonderful music makes everything so sweet. I'm not fully sure why people bashed this besides the amount that goes wrong it's well acted and wholesome with great diversity mashed in perfectly throughout. I was even late to getting a ticket and a sweet family let me have the spot the they had so the mom could sit with her kids, always magnificent when most the audience claps afterwards too.

HOT TAKE: Elemental is amazing. Yes, pun intended but I'm so serious here, folks; this was very done and I urge you to give it a fair shot. Elemental is a modern yet fantastical odyssey of romance and self-realization clashing with the weight of ethnic and generational expectations. A colorful and cultural onslaught of imagination, relatability and sentiment, tailored by two endearing leads with irresistible chemistry.

I'm usually not one for romcoms but if the leads are engaging enough, then I'm sold. Ember and Wade - voiced by fresh talent Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie, respectively - share a captivating journey together, one that isn't just focused on love but puts their humanity in a binding spotlight. Their relationship flows oh-so naturally and is 10x more enchanting than any prince and princess story. You know that scene from WALL-E where the robots dance outside the spaceship? Almost the entirety of Elemental follows that one gorgeous sequence's beat and it's utterly charming.

The animation is quite stunning to behold; fluid, expressive and diverse. I can tell Pixar had so much fun with it while pushing the envelope; such a delight to watch. The world drips with inventiveness and attention to detail; I wouldn't pass on living in Element City. I can't leave out Thomas Newman's music, too. This is the composer's fourth collaboration with Pixar (the first since Finding Dory) and his score doesn't disappoint; lovely, often hypnotizing, and always hits the right notes.

Elemental is one of the most soulful and compassionate pictures to come out of Pixar in recent years and it's getting such a bum rap for no good reason. Look, it may seem familiar on the surface but - as expected from the studio that pioneered the art form and tells personal stories - Elemental is built from real relationships and social conflicts and has moving answers to questions on affection, immigration, pressure, sacrifice, and free will. Prepare for some sniffles and tears. I felt the love that was put into it every second and that standing ovation at Cannes was well-earned.

Congrats, Peter Sohn. Thanks for telling your story.

Perhaps they're a victim of their own success, but audiences have come to expect the extraordinary from Pixar. This time they fail to deliver.

Elemental is not a bad film, unless it's compared with the string of masterpieces Pixar has produced in the past. This is tired and tiring by-the-numbers stuff. The animation is admittedly superb, and there are a few good jokes (thought-bubble probably being the best) but the plot (another lame re-hash of Romeo and Juliet) is painfully predictable; and it's hard to warm to any of the characters (that wasn't a pun, even if some of the character are made out of fire).

For the first time in ages, the main film is accompanied by a short - featuring Carl and Doug from Up. It was more fun than Elemental.

The old magic of Pixar returns in this family delight, and I am sad this was not a bigger hit. At the heart of this amazing movie is a timeless love story, of two elementally different individuals seeing the light shining in each other and coming together against all odds. My family and I were swept away by the simple sweetness of this film. Director Peter Sohn has done well.

There is also a beautiful father-daughter story interwoven into this film, and as the father of 4 princesses, I can definitely relate. The timeless lesson of letting your kids follow their dreams is retold in a beautiful way, and even more so, the critical importance of parent and child respecting each other.

The animation is spectacular, I love how the various elements are represented, and how they interact with each other in various moments. The character design is spot on, and the closer you look the more details emerge. Hats off to how far Pixar animation has come. For some time I thought a 5th unifying element would emerge but that was wishful thinking.

Finally, the soundtrack is a real delight, I truly appreciate the South Asian themes as my region of origin. Master composer Thomas Newman took a bold risk weaving in those elements, and it paid off.

I have not enjoyed a Pixar movie this much since Coco; they need to stay true to such heartwarming story-telling and inspiring imagination.

I don't know where to start with this movie. I expected more from this movie but I was let down. Don't get me wrong, the sweet elements were there especially from the God Father story in the beginning but then it becomes a classic cookie cutter Rom-Com movie with nothing new. Even my eight year old got bored from the first half. The story does improves by the second half but again, I feel PIXAR has lost its magic. I feel that PIXAR is more now about quantity versus quality story telling. The movie had too much visual but lacked to hit home with the story. By the end, my daughter and I were glad the movie was over.

What can I say about Elemental that will do it justice? It never really takes off. It's a familiar tale with a new setting and two dimensional characters.

Pros- visually this puppy is stunning, the world is inspiring but familiar. The sound design is well done.

Cons- the voice acting is very all over the place, some ok performances, but many just don't fit. The pacing is not very good either. The characters are too one note or two note.

Overall this is kind of a bland movie going experience. It's an immigration tale of foreigners making it in a new city and dealing with the prejudices of being different, very Zootopia, but unlike that very charming tale, this movie just drags and the characters are very bland. The fire dad might be the most intriguing character but by far the biggest offender is Wade Ripple, the water boy, they just shove him on you and try very hard to make you like him and the chemistry between Ember and him is so contrived. Also there is no really good side characters for them to play off of. Kind of a waste in my opinion.

It's a film that's pretty forgettable in the end. 4/10.

Elemental is a movie that just doesn't stick out. Pixar made this one a unoriginal story of opposites attacting and families and community not wanting them together. Not much was stuff hadn't seen before. One of the things that did stick out to me was the animation. Nothing mind boggling but it is one of recent Pixar's best work visual wise. I loved how vivid everything was and the elements driving movements. This movie also made laugh multiple times, which for me is pretty good. Some of those laughs however might have just been cope with the cringe, which this movie has a lot of. Some of the movements that characters make in this movie made my face sickle up. This movie entertained me for a bit, just barely though. You could watch better things in your time but if you really want then this movie would be enough to fill a boring night.

I meant to see this at the cinema at some point, but as it's now landed on Disney plus it seemed to make more sense to sit down with my son and watch it here. Whilst I don't think either of us would count it as our favourite Pixar movie, we both enjoyed it enough.

Element City is a melting pot city for its inhabitants, who are divided into one of four groups based on what element they are; Fire, Earth, Water or Wind. Ember (Leah Lewis) is a second-generation fire element who has been long destined to take over the family store, though her explosive temper has gotten in the way. She meets Wade (Mamodou Athie) a water element business inspector, who is investigating leakages and the pair bond, despite her parent's mistrust of water elements. The pair continue to grow close, whilst investigating the leaks together and Ember starts to question what she wants in life.

Whilst Pixar have certainly had films with elements for grown ups before, this is perhaps their most 'grown up' film to date. By that I mean it's a pretty straightforward romance story. The leak storyline provides the film with a reason for them to stick together, as well as featuring in the conclusion, but it's not "the plot" - we never feel like we're going on a quest, as with "Onward" or even "Coco". It's almost entirely about whether or not Ember and Wade can make it work. Within that, you have a story about immigration about whether sticking to one's own kind, and own traditions are better than amalgamating to something new, or not. And within that, a story about the pressures of second-generation immigrants and the pressures of living up to the sacrifice that your parents made.

I think I feel opposite to most critics on this, as where it didn't particularly work for me was visually. I thought that whilst the geography and architecture was OK, the actual character models themselves didn't really work.

Comparing Pixar films to other Pixar films isn't, in retrospect, particularly fair - particularly if, like this film, they're going to make a film that's in a different genre to the adventures that they usually provide. I can't imagine I'll choose to watch "Elemental" again, but I was entertained enough and I'm glad it exists.

This world consists of Elements, the different races of nature. Element City has been allowing immigration of each elemental races over the years. The newest immigrant wave is the Fire Element. Bernie and Cinder Lumen are new to the city. They find the city ill-fitting to them or downright hostile. They get damaged by the Water Elements. They burn wood which only raises the ire of the Earth Elements. The Air Elements look down on them. Finally, they find a home in an abandoned house and start a store called The Fireplace. The Fire neighborhood grow out around them and they have a girl named Ember. Ember grows up and Bernie allows her to run The Fireplace for the day. It's going badly and it gets worst when Water Element city inspector Wade Ripple shows up.

This is the standard immigrant story. It is so elemental that it hits you over the head with it. I wouldn't mind that but it leaves this world a little problematic. I just don't know why or how the Fire Element could coexist with the other Elements. It's a weird construction. I guess that's the point. This world is not built for them and yet they thrive somehow. Instead of creating something new, it's trying too hard to be a version of a human city. There are ways to make this more logically and compelling. In the end, one has to take this world as a given. I do really like the design of the Fire Elements. This is not top tier Pixar, but it looks really good and the story works well as long as one does not dissect this world apart.

Recently we went and watched Disney's "Elemental", and we've got a bit to say about it!

First off, we both loved this movie! The worst thing about this movie is how little we saw about it before hand. "Elemental" centers around Ember, a fire elemental immigrant to element city, with a bit of a temper and a ton of pressure to save and take over the family business, and Wade, a water elemental who just so happens to also be an extremely emotional city code inspector.

Elemental does very well bringing to light the challenges an immigrant family/group faces in a new environment, while also making sure it's wrapped up in a cute animated rom-com. The other elements are afraid, hostile, or dismissive when it comes to the the fire district and its people,but it's evened out with the budding romance between your two main characters. It also does very well in showing how important unity is among different groups of people. The art and animation in this one are amazingly done as well! The characters, in our opinion, are all well animated, well designed, and unique enough in their own ways. The animation, as standard with Pixar, is 100% on point.

Elemental, however, does lack in a select few areas. The side characters for the air and earth elements were all forgettable. Clod, Fern, Gale, and Lutz are all forgettable. The main characters and their families are well done and fleshed out. But they miss the mark on the backup characters. The story is also, nothing we've never seen before. Obviously it's hard to continuously come up with brand new never done before stories, so this is only a small critique, but it's been done before.

Overall though, we loved Elemental. It's a fantastic choice to watch with the family/kids. It didn't feel like anything was forced, there's good jokes for both parents and kids, it has an emotional ending, and the movie does do a good job of getting its message across. It's a Pixar romantic comedy movie and it does what it set out to do. It won't change the world, but it's got a good message.

We recommend this movie 100% if you're a fan of family friendly animation, or Disney movies in general. IMDb has this at a 7.1 but collectively we give this an 8/10.

TLDR - With a few lows, we still loved elemental and feel it's a great movie to watch with the family on movie night! Catch it when it comes to streaming! 8/10.

I cannot for the life of me understand why people are so hateful towards things now, sometimes I just can't see how I'm seeing the same thing as them. I kind of understand why Disney do these films that tie into real world issues and I think it's an obligation to keep kids innocent and accepting which is their nature, the only reason of the negativity is how they get influenced, so I guess the people hating are the ones who don't like acceptance, inclusivity etc. I think it was mild, not too aggressive and handled well and sadly it's poignant because adults still behave awfully.

The characters were great, I like how they used unknown people for the voices and I like how it's treating kids as mature and not making it babyish. The animation is perfect as always, the world is very similar to other Pixar films but there's kinda limited stuff to do with that. The underrated Ruby Gillman film had slightly better visuals but both were exceptional.

If you've become so dead inside this seriously makes you score 0-5/10 then I feel sorry for you, I'm 36 and make and Disney will always be top notch.

Elemental is a new animated film from Pixar that takes place in a divided city where residents of all four elements live together: fire, water, earth, and air. The main characters are two young women Ember and Wade.

The film's story is simple but effective. Ember is an energetic and passionate fire being who makes her living lighting fires. Wade, on the other hand, is a calm and cautious water being.

Is also full of humor, heart, and important messages. Ember and Wade show us that even people from seemingly different worlds can fall in love and become friends. The film also shows that it is important to overcome prejudice and work together in order to live in peace.

The film's animation is simply stunning. The filmmakers created a vibrant and colorful world that is full of detail. The characters are original and likable.

Elemental is a great animated film that will be enjoyed by children and adults alike. It is a film full of love, friendship, family, and beautiful animation.

I thought the movie was slightly better than okay. The plot and love story was a little "been there done that" but I think the message of the movie was beautiful. It's biggest fault is that the writers didn't know it's audience though. This was clearly for an older audience that come from immigrant parents. Not everyone can relate to that and for those that don't, it can come off as preachy. The animation was lovely. The character of Wade is so adorable, you can't help but fall in love with him. Overall, the movie struck a cord with me and made me cry on a few occasions which isn't that easy to do.

This is a worn out story of recycled material that will bore children. The characters are one dimensional. The scenes are tepid and unexciting. The use of elements to convey human emotion is a nice idea but the execution is not good. The animation was okay but not unique. Certainly nothing to go out of your way for. The depth of the character development seems shallow. The musical score is middling. The editing is choppy. The sound mixing is fair. The scene to scene progression is awkward and the run time is longer than one might expect from the material in the movie. My overall impression is that it can be missed.

I went into this very skeptical from everything I've heard, and while it's nothing revolutionary, it didn't need to be.

It was a cute movie, I enjoyed the overall story and the way the handed the message of the movie. The characters were fun and cute, the music was great and fit the movie well, and it's visually stunning.

I think lots of adults forget these movies are made for kids with the understanding that adults will be watching them too, but it's not made for adults.

I enjoyed it and would be happy to watch this again. There was something nostalgic and comforting about it I can't quite put my finger on.