Elemental
1 Oscar Nominations
Rent/Purchase
In a city where fire, water, land and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy will discover something elemental: how much they have in common.
What critics thought
Elemental landed as a genuinely divisive entry in Pixar's catalog: critics who warmed to it treated it as an unexpectedly sincere romantic comedy elevated by some of the studio's most visually inventive animation, while detractors found the immigrant allegory clumsy and the emotional machinery underwhelming by Pixar's own historical standards. The gap between a cautiously positive critical majority and a more enthusiastic general audience is the real story here — the film's reputation actually improved after its theatrical run began.
“Despite its confused and overstuffed worldbuilding, Elemental has enough charming moments to get by, even if its meaning lies less in its ill-conceived immigrant saga, and more in the personal drama that lives a few layers beneath it.”
Siddhant Adlakha·IndieWire
“The fact that Elemental can't seem to get past its own elevator-pitch premise or avoid tripping over its teachable lessons, much less wring laughs and sobs from an opposites-attract love story, is a bit of a shock. It's so busy trying to pen an op-ed that it forgets to give it a narrative structure and make it emotionally resonate. That's just elementary.”
David Fear·Rolling Stone
“With story beats and character turns that strain well beyond familiarity, Elemental matches formal adventure with storytelling timidity. Here is a new spin on the old formula, livened up by advances in technology and delivered with real artistry.”
Ben Croll·TheWrap
“contains hints of the studio's wit and poignancy while lacking the inspired execution that once seemed so effortless.”
Screen Daily
Genres
Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Cast & Crew
DirectorPeter Sohn
StarringLeah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey
ComposerThomas Newman
Elemental
1 Oscar Nominations
In a city where fire, water, land and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy will discover something elemental: how much they have in common.
What critics thought
Elemental landed as a genuinely divisive entry in Pixar's catalog: critics who warmed to it treated it as an unexpectedly sincere romantic comedy elevated by some of the studio's most visually inventive animation, while detractors found the immigrant allegory clumsy and the emotional machinery underwhelming by Pixar's own historical standards. The gap between a cautiously positive critical majority and a more enthusiastic general audience is the real story here — the film's reputation actually improved after its theatrical run began.
“Despite its confused and overstuffed worldbuilding, Elemental has enough charming moments to get by, even if its meaning lies less in its ill-conceived immigrant saga, and more in the personal drama that lives a few layers beneath it.”
Siddhant Adlakha·IndieWire
“The fact that Elemental can't seem to get past its own elevator-pitch premise or avoid tripping over its teachable lessons, much less wring laughs and sobs from an opposites-attract love story, is a bit of a shock. It's so busy trying to pen an op-ed that it forgets to give it a narrative structure and make it emotionally resonate. That's just elementary.”
David Fear·Rolling Stone
“With story beats and character turns that strain well beyond familiarity, Elemental matches formal adventure with storytelling timidity. Here is a new spin on the old formula, livened up by advances in technology and delivered with real artistry.”
Ben Croll·TheWrap
“contains hints of the studio's wit and poignancy while lacking the inspired execution that once seemed so effortless.”
Screen Daily
Genres
Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Cast & Crew
DirectorPeter Sohn
StarringLeah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey
ComposerThomas Newman
Rent/Purchase