Pixar’s Elemental has recently been labeled as one of Pixar’s biggest flops. The question for these claims is; Was it that bad? The short answer is no. Despite all of the reviews from the internet and critics, this movie isn’t that bad. (SPOILER ALERT!)
Elemental is a 2023 Pixar film set in a world where different elements live together in a city, called Element City. Ember is the main protagonist in Elemental, and she works at her father’s shop, which she hopes to inherit. During a stressful red dot sale, Ember’s uncontrollable explosive temper destroys a pipe, causing water to burst out. This causes the other protagonist, Wade, to burst out of the pipe. Both characters start to bond as they try to find solutions to several problems throughout the movie, sparking romance.
Ember and Wade share several cute moments, such as when they try touching without hurting each other. This succeeds after a few attempts, which ends up in them having a heartwarming moment where they dance. The romance between the two wraps the whole movie together because it shows how they still love each other regardless of everyone else’s judgment.
Before this movie even came to theaters, there was an official teaser trailer that Pixar released on November 17, 2022. Elemental seemed like a decent Pixar movie because of its colorful environment and the way the characters were animated. but when the official trailer came out, YouTube movie critics had other things to say. YouTubers lit Elemental on fire (no pun intended), and the movie was getting backlash before even being released. The reason why Elemental’s trailer received so much backlash was because many movie critics agreed that Pixar reused the same ideas and themes from some of their previous movies.
“I don’t have any interest in seeing Elemental because I believe that the movie plot was an overused idea…some examples would be SharkBoy And Lava Girl movie, Fire Boy and Water Girl game. The idea of ‘two people that shouldn’t be together actually love each other’ in general, Romeo and Juliet,” says freshman Alexis Lam.
Many people talked about how the movie looks generic and doesn’t have the same Pixar touch. (disneydining.com) To add more salt to the wound, Elemental wasn’t well advertised, especially compared to their previous films.
On June 16, 2023, Elemental was released in theaters. The trailer for this movie didn’t support it, but Elemental actually did surprisingly well at the box office. Pixar’s Elemental was a success at the box office, making a whopping total of over 400 million USD. (Lowry CNN.com) While Elemental was a box office success, that doesn’t change its reviews. Elemental has received mixed reviews, with some saying it was the biggest flop in Pixar history, others saying it was a decent film, and others even arguing that it was a beautiful animation with a significant meaning.
Elemental wasn’t a bad movie overall, although there are a few cheesy jokes here and there. This does not change the fact that this movie is still enjoyable.
“I found it cute when Wade told Ember how she is more than she thinks she is, and this made her express her emotions. I also found it cute when Wade took Ember to see the flower that Ember never got to see because her kind was discriminated against,” said sophomore Marlene Carrillo.
Elemental wasn’t that bad; the only reason it got so much hate was because people said that Pixar was reusing themes and the advertising wasn’t great.
Putting the cons aside, Elemental is a beautiful and cute love story about two opposite elements that fall in love. The film also stresses the importance of family and learning to accept and love each other. The animation in this film contained dazzling graphics that made the characters look realistic yet adorable. The characters are loveable with their unique personalities. Elemental is a cute movie, and it was not that bad. The movie can send someone on a roller coaster of emotions. They can feel the love that the characters have for their families. Overall, Elemental truly represents accepting and loving each other regardless of their differences.
