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.