Too many big ideas make Elemental waterlogged

For decades now, Pixar has ruled the animation game with a formidable formula: take cute, clever animation, swirl it with a dash of allegorical storytelling, and presto! Instant classic. The studio’s latest,

Elemental has the cute part down, bursting with creativity and stunning to look at. However, it falters with a story that buckles under the weight of too many themes. 

In a world populated by anthropomorphized elements, Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) is the only daughter of fire people Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Omni). Long ago they left Fireland to provide a better future for their daughter. On the cusp of taking over the family business, Ember’s temper causes some pipes to burst. Water isn’t the only thing that floods her basement; emotional city inspector—and water person—Wade (Mamoudou Athie) comes shooting out as well. 

When miscommunication threatens the Lumen business, Ember and Wade begrudgingly work together to find out why water was in Fire town after being turned off for decades. Along the way, they develop a friendship and feelings for one another, breaking Bernie Lumen’s number one rule: “Elements don’t mix.”

Visually, Elemental is classic Pixar from its opening moments. As a bank of fog lifts to reveal a giant beautiful metropolis, you know you are in the hands of master craftspeople. Each element has its own means of transport, from submarines to airships. The city itself is built vertically, with businesses and homes that cater to everyone’s needs. Each element that makes up the city’s populace is animated in a unique way. Earth folk have a solid thickness to them. Air folk float and fly everywhere with ease. The Water folk leave puddle trails as they walk along. 

Air, Water, and Earth co-exist peacefully without a second thought, but Fire folk are treated as the dregs of society, even relegated to their own, less desirable part of town. So by design, they look out of place. Their flames have a 2D cel-shaded appearance, while their clothes are 3D. There’s so much thought into how all the pieces work together to build a thriving world that manages to somehow put Zootopia to shame. 

By contrast, the story comes off as odd and cumbersome. The immigrant story and xenophobia allegories around the Fire folk border on uncomfortable, with the uncertainty and inconsistency of what population group—if any—they’re supposed to represent creating further issues. Their music cues and attire seem to point to one part of the world, while character designs and ancestral histories point to a few others. If it wasn’t central to the film, it could be waved away.

Conceptually, there are far too many cooks in this kitchen. Is Elemental about how race relations and classism lead to unhealthy stereotypes? Or society’s fear of the “other?” Being beholden to parental struggles or ideologies, instead of expressing one’s desires? Yes, to all. Any of these would make for a solid movie. Cramming them all into one film borders on overload. 

The biggest surprise in Elemental is that, stripped of hifalutin story bits, you’re left with the foundation of a classic romantic comedy. That just manages to lift it above the miasma of ideas weighing it down. Thanks to the signature Pixar charm, gorgeous animation and a sweet central romance, Elemental manages to be an exceedingly cute movie. Its thematic bulk makes it “fine” rather than “great,” but fine by Pixar standards is still better than most.