What do you say about a film like Elemental? Especially when the studio who made it also made Up, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, The Incredibles, Soul, and four Toy Story films. Each was so very good. Each brought tears to my eyes. A high bar was set. So high in fact that a film like Elemental doesn’t quite add up, but is still spectacular in it’s own right.
Elemental follows Ember, a fire element teen trying to live up to her father’s expectations whilst dealing with the casual racisms and judgements that come with being an immigrant. She falls in love with a water element boy and they can’t seem to stay away from each other even when they know that fire and water don’t mix. At least until the realize that they do, and the results can be steamy in a very adult way. Don’t worry, the film is very PG, but in true Pixar fashion, adult feelings are implied. Everyone who felt the hotness of a first kiss knows what I mean.
I really enjoyed this film, as did most of the adults in my theater. The kids though, did not. About half of the kids in my theater were bored by the end. The one next to me was bored during the new short, Carl’s Date. “When does the fun start?”, he asked. He spent the rest of his time in the theater running in front of my seat. I think that is the fundamental flaw with Elemental and Carl’s Date. The stories are so inherently adult that kids just aren’t interested. They don’t care about dating. They don’t care that a teen in inheriting her father’s store. They don’t care that Carl has a date. Those stories aren’t where they are in life. There were not talking toys or fish. No little boy scout befriending an old man in a balloon house. Just adults dressed as earth, air, fire, and water going through adult stuff. Elemental is for adults who probably won’t appreciate how beautiful it is to look at. And it is truly beautiful.
Elemental may not be the best Pixar film, but it is worth watching even if you are waiting for it to appear on Disney+. Your kids may not love it now, but when they are eighteen, it will all suddenly make sense, the emotions and situations carried out in this new Pixar film.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
What do you say about a film like Elemental? Especially when the studio who made it also made Up, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, The Incredibles, Soul, and four Toy Story films. Each was so very good. Each brought tears to my eyes. A high bar was set. So high in fact that a film like Elemental doesn’t quite add up, but is still spectacular in it’s own right.
Elemental follows Ember, a fire element teen trying to live up to her father’s expectations whilst dealing with the casual racisms and judgements that come with being an immigrant. She falls in love with a water element boy and they can’t seem to stay away from each other even when they know that fire and water don’t mix. At least until the realize that they do, and the results can be steamy in a very adult way. Don’t worry, the film is very PG, but in true Pixar fashion, adult feelings are implied. Everyone who felt the hotness of a first kiss knows what I mean.
I really enjoyed this film, as did most of the adults in my theater. The kids though, did not. About half of the kids in my theater were bored by the end. The one next to me was bored during the new short, Carl’s Date. “When does the fun start?”, he asked. He spent the rest of his time in the theater running in front of my seat. I think that is the fundamental flaw with Elemental and Carl’s Date. The stories are so inherently adult that kids just aren’t interested. They don’t care about dating. They don’t care that a teen in inheriting her father’s store. They don’t care that Carl has a date. Those stories aren’t where they are in life. There were not talking toys or fish. No little boy scout befriending an old man in a balloon house. Just adults dressed as earth, air, fire, and water going through adult stuff. Elemental is for adults who probably won’t appreciate how beautiful it is to look at. And it is truly beautiful.
Elemental may not be the best Pixar film, but it is worth watching even if you are waiting for it to appear on Disney+. Your kids may not love it now, but when they are eighteen, it will all suddenly make sense, the emotions and situations carried out in this new Pixar film.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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