The first reviews for Pixar's Elemental have arrived from the Cannes International Film Festival. Directed by Peter Sohn and written by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, and Brenda Hsueh, the movie stars Mamoudou Athie and Leah Lewis as Wade Ripple and Ember Lumen, respectively. Both characters are made from completely different elements, but slowly realize throughout the movie how much they have in common while living in a world where all elements live together.
Critics who attended Elemental's first screening at Cannes have now begun to share their thoughts on Pixar's latest summer offering. While some have praised the movie as one of Pixar's best in recent memory, others were left with mixed feelings about the end result, feeling that its beautiful visuals don't make up for its surface-level exploration of its themes. Check out what critics are saying below:
James Mottram, TotalFilm (via GamesRadar)
Vocally, Athie is a comic delight as Wade; a character prone to bursting into tears, his flashback to a terrifying encounter with a sponge is a particular joy. And there are gags aplenty – including a game of tag played out in Wade’s watery home by two relatives, Marco and Polo (geddit?). No doubt, there’s a lot to like about Elemental, but you’re left wishing it had pushed further and deeper, rather than just tentatively exploring its themes.
Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire
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.
Peter Debruge, Variety
The element element, on the other hand, corresponds to practically nothing children know or recognize about the natural world. Instead of giving them a deeper understanding of Fire, Water, etc., the over-complicated premise creates all sorts of confusing new rules for them to learn — rules which don’t really apply outside the film. “Elemental” is so elaborate and calls for so much exposition that the briskly paced movie is still trying to shoehorn essential backstory into the film’s final reel.
Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
Thanks to some of Pixar’s most open-hearted writing in a while, it develops into a genuinely sweet and moving courtship. Nor is it drowned out by the obligatory high-stakes finish – floodwaters surge towards the fire district – which instead affectingly tests the pair’s blossoming love. While unlikely to feature on many people’s favourite Pixar lists, Elemental brings with it the satisfying creak of a ship being righted.
Jo-Ann Titmarsh, Evening Standard
Like Inside Out, this is a film aimed at older children about to embark on relationships, while dealing with parental conflict. But said older children will also be asking themselves why fire feels cold (we see Bernie wrapping a blanket around his wife’s shoulders, which at best seems likely to put her out) and why Wade wears a shirt but not trousers, like a drippy Donald Duck. At one point, director Peter Sohn seems to take up an environmental theme, but this path is soon abandoned, in favour of a sole focus on the young couple’s troubled relationship.
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
In Elemental, Pixar’s usual ambitious leap into the unknown is more of a safe dip into calm waters — water being one of the four elements driving the story, although only two of them really count here — and much about it seems extremely familiar. This doesn’t mean it won’t be at least a modest summer hit when Disney releases it mid-June, following a premiere in Cannes on the festival’s closing night. But the wow-factor has kind of been lost at this point, and what we’re left with feels like just another Pixar movie.
Ben Croll, The Wrap
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. The film is full of complex and volatile parts, all held together in the most elemental of containers.
Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline
Elemental, a film that starts out with a clever concept and proceeds to build a world full of invention – exactly what we expect from Pixar – then uses that world as a backdrop for a protracted will they-won’t they flirtation that could have been ripped from the script of a telenovela. I know kids are wise to the ways of the world these days, but that’s the kind of thing that makes them simply embarrassed to be alive, especially when it culminates in a big, gloopy fire-and-water kiss and their parents are in the room.
Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
An affectionate tribute to immigrant families and the boundless capabilities of love, “Elemental” is a wholesome reminder that despite a few previous misfires, Pixar can still create the kind of beloved animated classics that will be passed down from generation to generation. Just as Ember and Wade do for each other, “Elemental” will warm your heart and move you to tears.
Tim Grierson, ScreenDaily
Whether it’s the second-rate jokes or the formulaic tear-jerking moments, one can’t escape the sense of derivativeness. So many of this film’s elements have been utilised far better in the past.
What The Elemental Reviews Tell Us About The Movie
While some reviews praise Elemental's incredible animation style and affectionate parallels to immigrant families, others have criticized the plot for being too "overcomplicated" or spending too much time building a universe that feels too dense for children to grasp and enjoy. Other reviews also note the movie's lack of originality in terms of plot, even if its message is very strong. Elemental marks the first Pixar movie with an original story to have been released in theaters since the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the commercial failure of last year's Lightyear, Disney has garnered much anticipation for Pixar's latest movie, with it being the closing film at Cannes, the first since Pete Docter's Inside Out, which went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Many critics have pointed out that Pixar's movies have lost their magic in recent years, and the early mixed reception to Elemental seems to reignite the debate on whether Pixar movies still have that spark.
Whether Elemental will be a commercial success remains to be seen, but it is being released on the same weekend as Lightyear did in 2022. However, it has rather stiff competition, with DC's The Flash releasing on the same day. Warner Bros. has ramped up the film's positive world-of-mouth by screening an unfinished cut of the film at CinemaCon and hosting press screenings in the past week, as such, the tentpole release could hamper Elemental's box office momentum, especially with reviews that aren't overwhelmingly positive.
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