Review: Elemental

Image courtesy of Pixar.

"Elemental" might not rank up there with the best of Pixar's offerings - which include "Wall-E," "Up," "Inside Out," and "Ratatouille" - but it's a likable, funny, and engaging animated picture that, in typical Pixar fashion, offers enough to keep both younger audiences and adults engaged.

As is also typical of Pixar, the film juggles some weighty material amid the colorful, fantastical world it depicts - consider how "Wall-E" portrayed a dystopian future, "Up" dealt with aging and death, and "Inside Out" focused on a child's conflicting emotions. 

The story at the center of "Elemental" allows for the film to consider the challenges posed to a couple who are two members from different backgrounds - which could stand in for an interracial couple or one in which two cultures clash - and the hurdles they must overcome.

The film is set in a New York City-like metropolis where all of the elements - earth, air, fire, water - coexist, although not always harmoniously. The film's central protagonist is Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis), a hot tempered fireball and second-generation immigrant who will one day inherit the Fireplace, a store created by her father when he and Ember's mother emigrated to Element City.

Ember's father (Ronnie del Carmen) recalls having to leave his ancestral home to make a better life for his family, and he views the Fireplace as an emblem of his success. However, he has yet to hand over the store to his daughter because of her inability to connect with customers as well as her red-hot temper, which often causes items in the store to burst into flame.

One day, after a customer ticks her off, Ember's outburst causes a rupture in the store's basement, and a city inspector, an individual composed of water named Wade (Mamoudou Athie), appears within the flooded room. He writes up some citations for the store, which cause Ember to pursue him into Element City, where she rarely ventures, to convince him to rip up the ticket.

At first, their relationship is combative, but as they spend more time together - primarily trying to work out a problem involving water slowly making its way into the fire-dwelling portion of the city, a plot thread that is not always as clear as it probably should be and somewhat of a distraction from the rest of the story - they begin to like each other.

It is Wade who gets Ember to admit that she's not as keen about taking over the Fireplace as her father is, and Wade's wealthy mother suggests that Ember consider becoming an artist after witnessing some of the glass sculpting of which she is capable. This, of course, sets up a conflict among Ember and her parents, especially considering that her father has a longstanding hatred of water, which he blames for some of his problems.

"Elemental" has a depth to it that is typical of Pixar and makes it stand out from most animated films, which are taken mostly at face value. It's not on the level of "Inside Out" or "Soul," two recent films that exemplified the animation studio's ability to rank among the best films of any given year. But nor is it the misfire that some critics are portraying it as. 

It's a solid Pixar movie with some eye-popping animation with often gorgeous color palettes, and an occasionally sweet story about both the immigrant experience and a cross-cultural romance. As usual, there's enough here to entice viewers of all ages.