What’s It About
In a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
What happened to Pixar? That was a rhetorical question because everyone knows Disney is what happened to Pixar. There was a time when Pixar could produce a movie, and no matter the subject, it would be great. They’ve had talking toys, talking cars, a cooking rat, and some sentient robots, to name a few. The stories were thought-provoking and heartfelt, to say the least. Even their not-so-good films, like The Good Dinosaur and Onward, were ok. So by the end of the movie, you had some kind of connection with the main characters. Elemental tries too hard to please a demographic no one knows much about – immigrants. We can all speculate, but unless you are an immigrant, the majority of Elemental is wasted and pointless screen time. I had no idea what the plot or story was based on the trailer. And like every Pixar movie I’ve seen, it didn’t matter because they always have great stories, and you empathize with the main characters. Those days are gone. Movies have a very short window to get their story across to today’s young and short attention span having generation. There lies most of the problem with Elemental. The story is there, but the context is told in such a manner that it has no real meaning. You kind of understand what the characters are going through, but because the movie treats each event like a thirty-second commercial, you ultimately don’t care. By the end, the entire thing becomes somewhat forgettable. In short, Elemental is a great movie, but it’s not Pixar great.
OUR RATING – A WATERY 6.5
MEDIA
- Genre – Family
- Street date
- Digital – August 15th, 2023
- DVD/Blu-Ray/4K – September 26th, 2023
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2.39:1
- Sound – English 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos, English 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, English AD 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 7.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles – English SDH, English, French, Spanish
Extras
Short Film
- Carl’s Date – Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® Award winner Bob Peterson and produced by Kim Collins, this all-new short, “Carl’s Date,” finds Carl reluctantly agreeing to go on a date with a lady friend —but admittedly with no idea how dating works these days. Ever the helpful friend, Dug steps in to calm Carl’s pre-date jitters and offer some tried-and-true tips for making friends — if you’re a dog. “Carl’s Date” opened in theaters in front of Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental.”
Featurettes
- Ember and Wade – Take a deeper look at the development of main characters Ember and Wade, from early designs to final effects, and learn how the complex work of the technical and character teams brought these characters to life.
- Next Stop: Element City – Explore how Element City is built to accommodate its different inhabitants. Director Peter Sohn and crew members share insights about the evolution of the designed world, as well as some of the research that inspired its unique look.
- Paths to Pixar: The Immigrant Experience – Hear from first-generation filmmakers on the Elemental crew as they share their journeys to Pixar. Discover how Elemental’s real-world themes of sacrifice and identity, amongst many others, reflect or diverge from their own lived experiences.
Deleted Scenes – Director Peter Sohn introduces five scenes that are storyboarded, set to music, timed, and voiced, but are not included in the final version of Elemental.
- Intro Ember – An alternate opening in which our hero Ember helps a newly immigrated Fire family navigate through, and acclimate to, Element City. Scene introduced by director Peter Sohn.
- Mom Rejects Wade – Ember’s traditional parents learn that she’s enamored with watery Wade…and it doesn’t go well. Scene introduced by story supervisor Jason Katz.
- Dante Challenge – In an attempt to keep Ember apart from Wade, Bernie tasks her with finding a place to live for newcomer Dante, who Wade finds himself rather enamored with. Scene introduced by story artist Nira Liu.
- Brook Dinner – Ember joins Wade for dinner at his home, in this abandoned storyline in which Wade’s mother, Brook, is revealed to be the villain diverting water into Firetown. Scene introduced by story artist Anna Benedict.
- Beach Proposal – Sharing a tender moment on the beach, Ember and Wade propose marriage to each other. Scene introduced by story artists Yung-Han Chang and Le Tang.
Audio Commentary
- Elemental Filmmaker Commentary – Join director Peter Sohn, supe tech Sanjay Bakshi, supervising animator Mike Venturini, and directing animator Gwendelyn Enderoglu as they provide insight into the making of this remarkable animated feature while you watch it.