Pixar’s Hope

 

“Pixar’s Hope”

A Review of Elemental by Nick Olszyk

 

Distribution Service: Theatrical

MPAA Rating, PG

NS Rating, A-II

Reel Rating, Three Reels            

 

Pixar is having a full-blown identity crisis; I wouldn’t be surprised if Cars 4 is about a silver corvette. Pixar used to be the gold standard of animation the world round, but by the late 2010s, they were off their game. In 2019, Pixar made its first genuinely terrible movie and has not recovered since. There are, however, glimmers of hope. Though flawed, last year’s Turning Red had promise, and Elemental continues in this vein with an exciting film that proves Pixar can deliver great cinema but has yet to find its center.   

As the title suggests, Elemental imagines a universe inhabited by four races of anthropomorphic beings based on the Aristotelian elements of earth, wind, water, and fire. Each has its own culture, language, mannerisms, and homeland. At the center of their planet is a sprawling metropolis called Elemental City. It was first founded by water beings, then earth people, then wind creatures (who all look like clouds), and only recently by fire immigrants. Think Avatar: The Last Airbender in reverse. Since the water beings came first, the city seems best suited to their needs. Transportation is based on a series of trains that run along canals, and a giant underground pipe system runs under everything. This makes life for fire immigrants especially difficult as water is lethal, dissolving their bodies like acid.

Into this hostile land comes Bernie and Cinder Lumen (Ronnie del Carmen and Shila Ommi), fleeing an unknown disaster to make their way in the big city, “strangers in a strange land.” Despite discrimination, poverty, and an impending pregnancy, they manage to set up a small shop and grocery store, specializing in “Fireish” trinkets and food. Their daughter Ember (Leah Lewis) grows up smart and earnest, eagerly awaiting the day when her increasingly older father will bequeath his shop. By her twenties, more fire immigrants have arrived, and the store is thriving. Unfortunately, a major leak occurs in the basement, and Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a water being and pipe inspector, pops out. Begrudgingly, he immediately writes up the Luman store for thirty citations and threatens to close it down. Ember pleads for mercy and offers to help find the source of the problem. Thus begins a bureaucratic journey crisscrossing the city until they find the source, which threatens not just Ember’s shop but all Firetown.

The Lumans explore the immigrant experience, specifically those of Asian refugees of Communism to urban areas like San Francisco and New York City. They speak Fireish at home and have almost exclusively Fireish customers. They also practice a form of ancestor worship while Cinder has a side hustle of “love readings” based on burning incense, The motif of “foreigner child taking over the family business except that’s not really what he/she wants” has been done a million times, but what makes this more complicated is Ember seems on board until she meets Wade. He plants the seed of an alternative life in her consciousness. Wade and his family are portrayed as the native Anglo-Saxons, living in a posh apartment in a nice part of town. Like the Draytons in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, they are classic liberals who seem to embrace Ember immediately – not literally, of course. No one is overtly racist like Zootopia; instead, the racial tensions are smaller and more subtle, like real life. The complexities of this society don’t ring artificial but authentic and deep, probably due to director Peter Sohn’s own experience growing up as the son of Korean immigrants in New York City.

The universe of Elemental is Pixar’s most exciting and dynamic since 2015’s Inside Out (also co-written by Sohn). Every nook and cranny is filled with neat details pertaining to the unique physiology of the inhabitants. Wade’s most traumatic memory was touching a sponge at four and being trapped inside for hours. The strollers of fire parents are barbeques, and their infants drink lighter fluid from a bottle. Obviously, there are lots of things that don’t make sense, but that’s fine if the laws of this Universe are consistent. Unfortunately, there is one glaring inconsistency but nonetheless becomes a central point of the narrative, but I’ll leave the reader to discover this.

            The most refreshing aspect of Elemental is its firm, pro-family stance. Ember’s parents are antagonistic to her relationship with Wade, but they are not evil. They love her, and several times she acknowledges the tremendous sacrifices they have given her. Even if she doesn’t stay at the shop, she wants to honor that gift. Wade’s family, though less industrious, is also loving. Wade’s father passed away a long time ago, and his absence still wounds him – and may have even negatively affected development. Mainstream animation is often rightly criticized for its poor parental figures who are frequently portrayed as aloof or overly stern, but here they are brave, complex, and gracious.

            This, unfortunately, cannot be said for Ember and Wade’s relationship. Their anatomy fits their roles perfectly. Ember is dynamic, aggressive, and efficient. She is task-oriented, taking her responsibilities seriously. Wade is…a wimp. Water beings are stereotypically known for wearing their emotions on their sleeves, but Wade takes it much further, crying at the drop of a head and rarely ever shutting up about his feelings. Ember is creative and ingenious, using her heat to mold glass into spectacular designs and fixing complicated pipe designs with the flair of Mario and Luigi. Wade is a nameless government drone who, despite admitting Ember’s situation, insists on following the letter of the law. It’s a painfully modern romance that lacks spark.

            Elemental was a middle tier return to form for Pixar: neither the disaster of the worst expectations, nor the hopeful return of the Prodigal Son. It was emotionally compelling and beautifully designed, but the central romance ultimately fell flat. It remains to be seen what the future holds for this once proud titan of the industry, but at least my kids can see it.

 

Post-Script – Disney’s recent violent turn to the cultural left has left many parents dismayed and suspicious. I was happy that Elemental seemed free of this burden. Yet after seeing the film, I came across an article that claimed the film contained Disney’s first “non-binary character.” I was perplexed as this completely escaped my viewing. After some investigation, I discovered Ava Hauser, who has only a handful of small IMDB credits and identifies as non-binary, voiced Lake – one of Wade’s several siblings. Even though her dialogue didn’t make the cut and the character barely appears in one scene, she insists that the character is non-binary too. It’s not important, just another water being trying to make waves.