Elemental (2023)

Disney/Pixar's latest film has been on the receiving end of some pretty lukewarm reviews with many predictably comparing it to Inside Out (2015) which is considered one of Pixar's finest films. Elemental surrounds Ember (made of fire) and Wade (made of water) who are brought together in Element City by chance to save Ember's Dad's family business, fighting prejudice towards the fire people which has been in place since their arrival to Element City where Water, Earth and Air people already lived. Elemental is clearly a play on immigration but there's different ways to read the exact meaning. For example, Ember's dad emigrated from his family's people to Element City years previously, as we see in a flashback that reminds us of a time when Irish people and Black people (for example) were turned away from lodgings because of their race or skin colour. Or indeed a time when immigration was less of an issue because the population of the Earth was absolutely tiny compared to what it is now. Either way the films' message is obviously a progressive one but what really makes the film work is the invention and world building that lead us to the films' conclusion. It's funny, colourful and thoroughly enjoyable, and there's a big difference between this and Inside Out; the trailer for Inside Out was utterly brilliant, potentially promising Pixar's best ever, which it was then coined by several critics. The reality was that Inside Out was good, but not close to Pixar's finest (Monsters, Inc [2001], Toy Story [1995], Wall-E [2008]). Elemental's trailer promised some excellent world building and an interesting story, and it delivers on all counts. It's not in the upper echelons of the film's mentioned above, but it's a fine piece of work that is much better than people have given it credit for. 7.2/10