Title: Elemental
Director: Peter Sohn
Voice Cast: Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Catherine O’Hara, Mason Wertheimer, Joe Pera
Where: In theatres near you
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Rating: ***1/2
At its core, Elemental is a rom-com that offers a novel, layered odyssey of romance and self-realisation clashing with the weight of cultural and traditional expectations.
Set in the fantastical place called Element City, an enticing universe parallel to a progressive-modern city where the phenomenally diverse population comprising basic elements like; air, water, fire, and earth, reside as uneasy neighbours.
The Air people resemble clouds of fairy floss. Earth people have foliage sprouting from their heads. Water people resemble water bubbles, and Fire people represent flames.
While the place appears magical, this is no paradise, especially for the fire people. They are largely confined to the immigrant ghetto of Fire-town.
Elemental is a love story where opposites attract. Ember Lumen (voiced by Leah Lewis) is a fire girl with a temper matching her persona. She is the second generation of her family who have settled in Element City. Her parents, immigrant Bernie and Cinder Lumen (Ronnie del Carmen and Shila Ommi) have a store called Fireplace on the outskirts of the city, and it’s a given that Ember would one day inherit the place from her father. How she meets and falls in love with Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), a water boy while investigating a mystery that is plaguing the fire neighbourhood forms the crux of the narrative.
The first act hooks us with the characters and images enough to grab our attention, but the narrative is so complex that it tries your patience. It is only in the second act when Ember and Wade meet and their romance blossoms, that the telling gets interesting. Their relationship flows naturally, and it is 10 times more enchanting, especially when their elements are incompatible.
Imagine water and fire elements falling in love with each other, it is not only charming but also mesmerising, especially when they symbolise universal contrasting temperaments within any culture.
The two scenes that stand out are; when Wade introduces Ember to his family and the second when Cinder Lumen, who is also into predictions, makes Ember and Wade light essence sticks to find out if theirs is true love. These scenes are relatable and connect with the sentiments immediately.
The narrative is packed with emotions and is subtly laced with puns and metaphors that you can not miss. One glaring on the face is the title of a film showing in the local cinema in the film verse - ‘Tide and Prejudice’.
Visually the frames are colourful and stunning with fascinating animation. The characters stand out in style and uniqueness. They are all anthropomorphic and abstract. The voices of the ace cast match the characters to perfection. The 3D effects, along with Thomas Newman’s music, elevate the viewing experience.
Overall, despite the film being formulaic and complex in its telling, it has a soul which touches you at some point or another.
