Op-Ed: ‘Elemental’ is Pixar’s Best Love Story Since ‘Up’

Anyone who has lurked about social media this week already knows that Pixar’s Elemental suffered a big blow at the box office. Some are calling it a forced racial allegory, others are claiming it plagiarized Zootopia, and some don’t even know what to make of it. However, this writer can certainly say that it is one of the best emotional experiences to come out of Pixar since Carl met Ellie.


While the film is horrifically plagued by misleading marketing, Disney and Pixar fans need to rush to get their tickets because this film hits way differently than ads and artwork would have you believe. Moreover, it’s a movie that will melt nearly every adult viewer in the audience.


Pixar Gets Steamy in Elemental


After an abysmal opening weekend, Elemental might be starting to pick up steam as far as reviews are concerned. However, people going into the theatre expecting a movie about inequality issues told through the basic elements of earth, fire, water, and air only pick up a small percentage of the plot.


There is truly a story-rich narrative of the immigrant experience thanks to the marvelous direction of Peter Sohn, but that’s not the biggest reason to see the film. The relationship between Ember and Wade is one of the most charming, emotional, and heartwarming pairings in Pixar’s canon. In this writer’s opinion, it’s the best rom-com to hit theaters in years.


It’s quite poetic that the film carries out the Pixar tradition of beginning with a short film about Carl Fredricksen from Up and his new romantic adventure, as it feels like a passing of the torch from one emotional love story to another. While Carl and Ellie didn’t need a nearly two-hour film to get their romance across, Wade and Ember’s carries a similar emotional weight and meaning that many audience members will appreciate, particularly older viewers.


Speaking of which, this is quite possibly the most “adult”  or mature Disney film to come out in some time. Not only does it tackle the very real struggles the Lumen family faces, but it also covers the internal complexities of new relationships, mixed-race couples, and other hoops we all have to jump through on the quest to find love.


Yes, the movie checks a lot of boxes for cinematic romantic comedies, but it does it the way only Pixar can. The world is colorful and engaging, the characters are vibrant and lovable, and the facial expressions alone are enough to keep audiences absolutely glued to the screen. Pair that with its incredible love story, and it’s truly that special something that the studio has needed for a long while.

Popular posts from this blog

Barbie Crosses Another Major Domestic Box Office Milestone

Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is set to cross a major box office milestone domestically in its fourth weekend in theaters. Barbie continues to smash through box office milestones, with the Warner Bros. film on track to cross $500 million domestically today. According to Deadline, Barbie is expected to top the box office again in its fourth weekend with $31.8 million. The Greta Gerwig-directed feature film has so far grossed $492.6 million domestically, meaning that Friday's box office haul should push it over the $500 million milestone. Globally, Barbie has cracked the $1 billion worldwide box office mark. So far, the only other 2023 movie to have achieved that milestone is Universal's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is currently the highest-grossing movie of the year with $1.356 billion. Barbie has seen great commercial success since its release in theaters on July 21. The film opened domestically with $162 million -- the largest debut ever for a film dir...
Read more

Sofía Vergara Is the Cocaine Godmother in First Griselda Photos

Netflix shares a sneak peek of the miniseries Griselda, created by the team behind Narcos & starring Sofía Vergara as Miami drug lord Griselda Blanco. Netflix gives viewers their first look at the upcoming miniseries Griselda, produced by and starring Sofía Vergara. First shared by Entertainment Weekly, the preview images show Vergara in the title role as Griselda Blanco, a Colombian immigrant who became involved in America's burgeoning cocaine business in the 1970s and a prominent figure in the Miami drug wars of '80's. The series was created by Eric Newman and Ingrid Escajeda alongside Doug Miro and Carlo Bernand, who previously created the similarly-themed Narcos for the streamer. Another Narcos alum, Andrés Baiz, will direct the series, though he specified that Griselda will have a different feel to the team's previous collaboration. "The stylistic landmarks of Narcos are not in Griselda," Baiz explained. "Griselda has its own identity ... its own...
Read more

Loki EP Insists Jonathan Majors' Victor Timely Still Plays a 'Big Part' in Season 2

Loki Season 2 executive producer Kevin Wright confirms that the production hasn't downsized Jonathan Majors' role despite his ongoing legal issues. Jonathan Majors' Victor Timely is still set to play a major role in Loki Season 2, according to executive producer Kevin Wright. Wright indicated that Majors' real-life legal issues haven't resulted in Marvel Studios retooling Loki's second season to minimize his character's importance during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Victor Timely is somebody that we are very, very excited about," he said. "When you look at Kang, he has a very funny comic backstory. He has all these iterations. Timely was one that we've always wanted to do in Loki. And I think we're really excited about how that integrates into the season. It's a big part of the show." Wright's comments track with a recent report that purported to reveal how much screentime Majors will have in the upcoming Marve...
Read more