When Fire Washes Up

In these extraordinary times, studios throw millions of dollars at aggressively stupid screenplays. One specimen is 2023's Elemental from the once creatively vibrant Pixar Animation Studios.

The high concept premise is, in a world of sentient, anthropomorphised elements, a fire elemental and a water elemental have a romantic comedy. It's a, shall we say, steamy premise and the best part of the movie is when the two experiment with touching. No amount of neurotic sanitation could deprive that moment entirely of sensuality.

However, to get there we have to suffer through an idiot plot in which Ember (Leah Lewis), the fire elemental, is compelled to pretend to know nothing about the water leak that almost destroys her father's shop. Wade (Mamoudou Athie) is the water elemental and city inspector who cries all the time, something that's supposed to be funny or cute but instead comes off as the most excruciating Lucille Ball impression you could imagine.

There's an allegory for immigrant families, evidently based on director Peter Sohn's real life experiences, but, as is usually the case with allegory, it has to tie the premise in knots to stay on track. Why did the fire elementals have to immigrate? Because their house was destroyed in a flood. A shot of frowning elders in their homeland, I guess, is supposed to somehow explain why the family couldn't simply find a new house in the homeland they still love. Then we have the potentially very unwise decision to paint these particular immigrants as people who can explode and destroy parts of the city at any moment, an idea that might not have occurred to Sohn had he been the son of Middle Eastern immigrants instead of Korean immigrants.

The animation is good, of course. I'm sure executives felt within their rights pocketing millions on the strength of what the animators sweated over.

Elemental is available on Disney+ in most countries.