Where I Watched It: Disney Plus

English Audio Description Provided By: Deluxe

Narrated By: Michelle Deco

The internet makes no sense. The unqualified rage against Disney, and the persistent talk about impending doom all circle around the idea that Disney isn’t making anything fresh. Then, Elemental opens, and people really can’t be bothered. Either you want original disney or not. Which is it?

The latest from Pixar tells the story of a world where you are either part of Fire, Water, earth, or Wind, and someone killed Mah-Ti, so no combination of these individuals will eve summon Captain Planet. They are a ring short. But these are not humans, but beings that are truly representative of their various elements.

Our main character is a girl named Ember, who is presented with the task that she one day will succeed her father as the manager of their store… if she can just control her temper. One day, the temper flares up a bit too much, and in pops a water guy who is doing inspections and gives her restaurant a citation. Naturally, Ember wants to fix it, so these two embark on a journey of exploring the world, while also each other.

The Good. I loved the voice cast. Instead of propping up with well known voice actors, the actress playing Ember is virtually unknown, and terrific. She has a raspy quality to her voice that really makes her feel edgy enough to have these temper outbursts. Also, this is clearly an allegory for our immigration and how it’s set up. The relationship between the two leads is effective, and there are lots of great moments, including the really smaller moments.

What I didn’t like so much was that the film does a terrific job establishing Fire and Water, but not so much Wind or earth. Both feel underdeveloped, and don’t have nearly the screentime to really explain how this entire world works, but rather just how Fire and Water don’t mix. There are some interesting choices made with each of the elements, but even in that I got confused. At one point, Ember sees her dad sleeping, and puts a blanket on him. Is she trying to kill him? How does he not burn up the blanket?

Also, in the world of phenomenal Pixar scores, like Michael Giachinno’s theme for up, I have already forgotten the score to Elemental. There was an original song in the middle that also did nothing for me.

The audio description done by Deluxe works with what it’s got, trying to flesh out as much of all the worlds as possible, it just has a lot more to work with in the Fire and Water area. Deco has the right voice for this narration.

This is neither the best or worst Pixar film, and lands somewhere in the middle. The director had something clearly to say, and the originality mostly works. I can easily come up with five Pixar films I already know I like this more than (Cars 2, The Good Dinosaur, Toy Story 4, Onward, Turning Red), and I’m sure there are a few more. But this is also a far cry from diamond level Pixar like Toy Story, Wall-E, Up, Finding Nemo, or inside Out.

But, if you want something original from Disney, here it is.

Final Grade: B