Elemental: Fire, Air, Water, Earth.

16 days ago

Good animations are usually very heart warming to watch and I can't exactly explain the kind of stillness and peace that comes after seeing a good and seemingly educational animation. This particular animation however, gave me some food for thought. If I was ever given the opportunity to become one element, which would I be?

Of course, I'd opt to be all in one, an avatar of some sorts but in a situation where this wasn't possible, which would it be? Water. Water is free flowing and versatile. It can be one’s best friend and another’s worst enemy. It basically makes up a good percentage of the human body and can transcend through different forms; ice, fluid, vapor. And these are a few of the many reasons why I’d choose to be water.

About The Movie

A fire family, father(Bernie), mother(Cinder) and an unborn child, immigrate to an entirely different city after a thunderstorm leveled their business and primary source of income. In a bid to start life afresh, the family moves to Elemental city, a city that can comfortably accommodate other elements; water, air, earth, cloud puffs, trees, etc, but not fire. After being rejected by every landlord in the city, Bernie opts to build his home and shop out of an abandoned roadside building.

Fast forward to a few years later, his business is booming and becomes a place of solace to every other fire individual in the city. Bernie is gradually getting old and hopes that someday he can pass down his legacy to his only child, Ember. Ember on the flip side has grown up knowing that she is an outcast because she lives in a place where “fire” is treated differently. With this, she is tasked with the responsibility of being “a diligent daughter who is extremely excited to take over her father’s legacy–the convenience store” but her anger doesn't let her fit into the role of manager.

During one of her outbursts, she causes a water pipe breakage and this leads to her encounter with a water guy–Wade. Wade is a city inspector who effortlessly connects with the people around him. Soon enough, there is a spark between Ember and Wade but water and fire cannot mix, or can they? Ember and Wade have to find a way to make their budding relationship work while Ember still tries to figure out what exactly she wants to do with her life.

This romance family fantasy animation was released on the 16th of June, 2023. The animation has a runtime of 101 minutes. It was directed by Peter Sohn and is rated PG.

My Opinion

This animation was visually stunning and eye friendly. The imaginative world building and metaphors were just on point. I can't imagine the amount of work one has to put in while writing a script about living elements. How does one begin to imagine how fire or water would act under certain circumstances? How about figuring out the major issues that accompany being a particular element? I like how well the characteristics of each element was portrayed.

The themes of identity, as in the case of ember, love, immigration and the challenges immigrants face and family connection were explored in this animation. I personally admire the familial bond within the fire family. They were a close knit family with jovial members who all had golden hearts. Irrespective of how many times a family member did wrong they were willing to receive them back with open arms whenever they returned.

Although Ember happened to be the main character, my favourite character was Wade, the water guy. Wade was a really emotional guy who cried for unnecessary things but this seemed to be a water family thing–crying for insane reasons. Aside from this, Wade was an intentional, compassionate, caring, thoughtful and supportive ‘element’. Even when Ember wanted to give up on her dreams, he kept persuading her not to kill a dream before she even lived such a dream. Not many people would be willing to stand by a friend, especially after the friend publicly casts them out.

Still on the topic of characters, a good number of the characters were properly developed but the side characters held no nuance. This wasn't much of a problem to me because all the characters I was interested in had backstories to them.

I like the addition of a fine touch–the Vivisteria flower. This flower allegedly could thrive in all four elemental environments– fire, water, air and earth–signifying unity, diversity and resilience. This concept was properly portrayed and for a minute, I thought such a flower actually exists. Turns out it's just a fiction of the script writer's imagination.

One of the aspects where this animation lacked was the plot. The plot was very predictable. Girl meets boy, boy helps girl navigate life and girl and boy both try to beat the odds in a bid to be together. One could tell the end of the movie from the beginning but the additional unexpected bits and pieces added to the plot made it worth the watch.

YouTube

Recommendation

Elemental is a family friendly animation with stunning visuals and an emotionally rich storyline. I had a good time watching this film and learnt a few lessons while at it. >! One of such lessons is the fact that under the right circumstances, water and fire can mix.

I would give the animation an 8/10 rating because aside from its predictable plot, it was such an endearing watch. I hope you find the time to check this one out.

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