Years ago Ember’s (Leah Lewis) parents, Bernie (Ronnie Del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Ommi) moved to Elemental City, where they planned to open a small store and raise their family. They are fire, and fire doesn’t mix with other elements–and this has forced this close-knit family to remain in Fire Town since they moved in. However, when Ember meets Wade (Mamoudou Athie), water, she realizes that there might be more out there for her, more than just running her father’s shop–and her life is about to drastically change.
For years Disney has been on a mission to be as inclusive as possible, to encourage diversity and abandon many of the things that they had done for years that had found them success. It got to the point where they were dabbling in woke culture and their films were becoming somewhat frustrating as a result. Elemental doesn’t completely veer from this idea, it doesn’t alter their mission or their purpose–but it does find a better way to present itself to the world. Viewers are always forced to ask the question “why?,” not just with Elementals, but with all films. This film constantly answers that question, it constantly tells viewers why this team made the decisions that it did, and that’s a great way to keep viewers (even young ones) engaged from beginning to end.
Writer-Director Peter Sohn gets to tell his story here in Elemental; he gets to tell the world about the many sacrifices that his family made for him when they first came to America from South Korea. What he doesn’t do, though, is pigeonhole his film and focus on one culture. He combines elements of Indian, Korean, and Irish cultures to create something that transcends audiences, that allows the world to peer into his film with knowing eyes and appreciate Elemental on a personal level. He ultimately creates inclusion on a level that most of Hollywood isn’t able to, and with this his film remains accessible to all throughout it’s entirety.
There’s no doubt that animation in a Disney/Pixar film would be stellar, that every detail would have been considered during every step of the filmmaking process. Elemental is different. It’s still the beautiful convergence of color and light that the word has come to love, but we see things that may never have existed in an animated film before. The way that things react to one another: the change in color, the fact that different elements cause a chemical reaction, etc., separates Elemental from every animated film that’s come before. There’s really no other way to describe the animation other than perfect. It checks every possible box, envelops viewers in this wonderful narrative, and ultimately drives Elemental forward with great aplomb.
Lewis was a stellar choice to voice Elemental’s lead. Let’s be clear, everyone was wonderful, never missing a beat, never failing to live up to any expectations that viewers may have had; and, sure, someone else may have been able to voice Ember with the same level of vigor—but Lewis is different. There’s something so charming about her voice, something so warm and cozy about her tone. It’s perfect for children (who are the primary audience here), but it appeals to more mature audiences as well. Viewers can hear the passion in her voice, and she has such great range—and, again, that charming quality that’s present in her voice is a game changer, altering the brilliance of the character and raising her to new levels. Again, while someone else may have been able to voice Ember with the same amount of passion, I’m not sure that Elemental finds the same level of success without her.
I never doubted for a second that Elemental would be an entertaining film, but I was curious who would find it entertaining. I wasn’t sure if it was going to dive deeper into woke culture, forcing ideas of diversity and inclusion down viewers’ throats, or if it would be something else entirely. Sohn, in his sophomore film for Disney in the director’s chair, creates something so emotionally reevent, culturally groundbreaking, and aesthetically stellar that I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t like it. Elemental is everything I hoped it would be, and Disney’s best venture since Encanto.
Directed by Peter Sohn.
Written by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, Brenda Hsueh, & Peter Sohn.
Starring Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie Del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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