Much like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Pixar’s 2023 release Elemental premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to little fanfare. Couple that with audiences being so quickly conditioned to expect a film on Disney+ mere months after the theatrical debut and the movie didn’t have the best launch. But it quietly drew in viewers and it became a profitable sleeper hit for the company despite all signs pointing to it being a flop financially. So the comeback story is great, especially for all those animators who worked on it for years, but how about the movie itself? Is it worth your time now that it’s out on Disney+? Let’s find out.

Elemental takes place in Elemental City, a wonderfully realized setting that’s home to anthropomorphized imaginings of the four elements. Three of those four live in relative harmony to each other but the fire element, thanks to its natural destructive nature, leaves them ostracized by society. The story follows Ember, the daughter of fire immigrants who will someday run her father’s little convenience store in Firetown, a place where other fire elements can live together without being targeted by xenophobia, as they so often are. But before Ember can take control over the Fireplace, she must take control of her firey anger, which can often get the better of her, forcing her to lash out in a fit of purple flame. Things get even worse for her when a water element named Wade Ripple ends up in the store’s pipelines after a leak caused by Ember. Wade just so happens to be a city inspector and the shop is rife full of violations, so much so that the store is at risk of being shut down. So Ember embarks on a journey, first to stop the citations from being read and then to help Wade find the source of the leak.

So let’s talk about what worked. Once again, Pixar knocks it out of the park in the animation department. This movie looks great. Not only the highly detailed city and locations but the characters as well. Ember almost seems like a 2D animation at times thanks to the way her fire-based body flickers dynamically. Her character is also the stronger point of the movie, having to deal not only with the backlash of being a fire element, but the pressure of making her family proud while also seeking to follow her own path. The music by Thomas Newman is also notable, invoking soundscapes reminiscent of Avatar to Finding Nemo at times. A catchy pop tune with pop artist Lauv with music by Newman also plays during a sweet and charming montage during the movie. It comes in at a brisk ninety-ish minutes excluding credits and it’s the ideal runtime for the movie. Its themes may be a little on the nose, but it works, especially for younger viewers learning these lessons. I also liked the cute relationship building between Ember and Wade, but it didn’t fully work for me as I wasn’t a big fan of Wade, the co-lead and romantic interest to Ember. I found him to be very pushy and needy, which made him hard to like him and thus, their relationship. He does motivate and inspire Ember, so he doesn’t fall flat, but he just was an odd character to root for (and that’s excluding him constantly bursting into tears).

I think one of the bigger issues the movie has is that it’s incredibly safe, both in terms of the lack of risks it takes narratively and how it pulls its story beats and themes from other properties. Ember being a rage-filled character while Wade is constantly crying and diving into his more sensitive emotions harkons back to Inside Out’s Anger and Sadness while the use of the four elemental powers reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The dynamic between Ember and her father also reminded me of the relationship seen in Turning Red, which showcased the expectations and pressures immigrant parents can put on their kids. The film also refuses to take any chances narratively. One moment near the end of the movie lacked any tension because my knee-jerk reaction was “Disney doesn’t have the guts to do that anymore” and mere moments later, I was proven right. It’s just a very, very safe movie that doesn’t want to take any risks. The humour also felt like it was trying to be funny, rather than actually being funny, resulting in some awkward line delivery.

Elemental is, in the end, a safe but enjoyable movie that I probably won’t watch again. I think kids will love it, as it has plenty of great visuals and a good story with strong values that they’ll learn from, but it’s not as good as it could have been. I think it’s better than Lightyear and Turning Red, Pixar’s most recent offerings before this one, but not as strong as Onward or Luca for example, two other recent films from the studio.