By Gezim Dervishi
From the journey of an environmentalist robot to the quest of living toys to a story about water and fire falling in love, Pixar’s animations and stories seem to have improved in quality through the years. Did “Elemental” reach the standards of other Pixar movies, or was it just another movie in 2023 cinema?
“Elemental” follows the story of Ember Lumen, a girl of the fire element, born to parents who immigrated to Element City after leaving their native land due to a storm destroying their shop. She repeatedly reminds herself that her parents sacrificed everything for her, so she believes that much of her future relies on her work in her father’s shop. When Ember’s explosive temper causes Wade Ripple, a boy of the water element, to accidentally enter the Lumen family shop, a plotline develops to stop the flow of water to Firetown, and a love story begins.
“Pixar uniquely showed how one experience can shape a person’s opinion on an entire group of people.”
The dual storyline comments both on xenophobia and a first generation child’s ability to pursue a different path than her parents. Element City represents a place where the four elements can live together; however, it is a hostile place to fire people, since much of the city depends on water. Additionally, Ember and her family are wary of water for trying to “water them down.” In one scene, all fire elements were banned from a building because their flames were considered to be too dangerous, and Ember’s father became enraged and embarrassed. Pixar uniquely showed how one experience can shape a person’s opinion on an entire group of people. However, one’s narrative is not always the reality, and after meeting Wade, Ember tries to remind her dad that “not all water looks the same.”
“It was a heart-touching story, which helps make it a lot more attractive to a younger audience. Touching on themes of generational expectations and self-discovery really helped add to the character of the film. Wade was also portrayed as very emotional and sentimental, something we don’t really see a lot with the idea of masculinity,” said first-year student Alexis Leone.
With 46 million people being immigrants in the U.S., Pixar represented a story that many have experienced themselves. Immigrants of all backgrounds have shown resilience by building up their lives from the ground up, so their businesses mean way more than just a store building. It can be inferred that the Lumen family was the first to settle in an area that would later, through the influx of fire residents, become Firetown. Their residence attracted others like them to the area and eventually turned it into a cultural center for their element, showing the importance of strength within a community of immigrants. The weight on Ember to continue her father’s legacy is heavy, so she struggles to choose to be with Wade and to pursue her own dreams. An article from USA Today featuring an interview with the director, Peter Sohn, mentioned that his background as a Korean American inspired the movie, and “his intent was always to simply salute his parents with an Asian American tale.”
While the aspect of tackling xenophobia in a cartoon was interesting to watch, some believe that the love story between Ember and Wade seemed forcefully shoved into the plot. The audience was left with questions on why Wade was not affected by Ember’s flame in some cases but began to boil in other scenes. However, being around each other’s polar opposite personalities definitely led to change and character development in both of the elements.
“Water and fire mixed when everyone thought they couldn’t. The messages of the movie were delivered very well,” said first-year student Janae Smith.
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