Elemental: The Quality of Pixar's Animations is Declining

Elemental has been out for a while, but I kept putting off watching it due to the strong appeal of Barbie and Oppenheimer. However, after finally watching it, I find myself sharing the same feelings as those of many Pixar fans - which I did not think much of then - the quality of Pixar's animations is declining.

Six years ago, we were awed by Coco, but six years later, Elemental disappoints us. I am comparing the two not only because they are both produced by Pixar, but also because Elemental to me is a Coco-like story, and to be more precise, a simplified and perfunctory version of Coco.

The core of Elemental is nothing other than intergenerational conflict. Just as Miguel in Coco is expected to inherit the shoemaking family business since his birth and is not allowed to pursue music, Ember in Elemental is also destined to take over the Fireplace (a grocery store) that her family has painstakingly set up after immigrating to Element City, without ever having the chance to think about what she truly wants to do. After numerous arguments and confrontations, children ultimately get to fulfill their wishes, as their parents are willing to give in after trying to understand the values and desires of the new generation. Finally, after going through such a major tussle, the two generations, and even the entire family, come to a miraculous reconciliation.

There is nothing new under the sun, and stories have their own conventions. It is not a mistake to talk about intergenerational conflict, but it is a mistake to talk only about it.

Coco moves us to tears, not only because it tells a unique story about a family in Latin America, but also because it brilliantly captures an incredible concept - that death does not signify eternal separation but forgetting does - and seamlessly integrates it into the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead. Those who are not honored by their families, those who are about to be completely forgotten, and those who, like Miguel, are banned from pursuing freedom, desperately wait to receive their rightful recognition. Coco's success lies in its ability to present the same content with a revised look, injecting novelty and unparalleled creativity into a universal emotional theme that always moves us.

On the other hand, Elemental offers nothing beyond a simple story about intergenerational conflict. But it could have offered so much more! There is plenty of room for creativity - the elements we neglect in our daily lives, such as water, fire, and wind, and the amazing chemistry that may occur between them. Most disappointingly, Pixar's imagination did not exceed the audience’s expectations.

The Firemen eat charcoal-grilled Kol-nuts made from wood and wear specially made clothes that will not melt in fire. Okay, that's fine.

Wade Ripple (the Waterman) uses the principle of light convergence using convex lens to light an incense stick. Okay, that's fine.

Water only evaporates but is not lost in a sealed space, which corresponds to Wade's "false death" - he puts his life on the line trying to save Ember. As long as he is made to cry, he can shapeshift back. Okay, that's interesting.

And then? I cannot think of any other stimulating ideas. The examples listed above are only mildly interesting but not awe-inspiring, which is undoubtedly a pity for an animation that requires more creativity and imagination.

I will not deny that Elemental dealt acceptably well with these small details. But besides occasionally treating the audience to some little pleasant surprises as seen above, a movie also needs bigger ones that contribute to the grand climax (the way Wade dies and resurrects barely qualifies). Otherwise, the story will fall flat at the crucial moment even with many exquisite details. Won’t it be very anticlimactic?

And this is exactly why the scene where Ember and Wade first touch each other is disappointing. God knows how much I was looking forward to seeing an extraordinary portrayal of the monumental merge of fire and water, but there was nothing. The encounter between the two incompatible elements is depicted with some fizzing effects at the parts of contact. Excuse me? That's it?

Elemental does not expand on the elements fully but simply applies a story template about intergenerational conflicts within immigrant families. Even so, it has fared worse in the portrayal of such a theme (as compared to other films).

We have seen too many excellent works in the Asian theme wave in recent years, such as last year'sTurning Red and EEAAO, which are among the best. They portray similar family structures (immigrant families run by mothers) and conclude with mother-daughter reconciliations. These are the outstanding contributions they have made: firstly, they further expand the influence of Asian American themes, exposing the world to more stories of heterogeneous ethnic groups beyond those centered around Euro-Americans; and secondly, they put mother-daughter relationships at the center of narratives, instead of father-son relationships, allowing mothers who were previously invisible under patriarchal power more opportunities to speak up.

However, Elemental takes an abrupt step back by replacing the mother figure with the perpetually indomitable patriarchal figure. This narrative would work if Ember's father had any unique character traits. However, he remains a stereotypical image of authority seen in various literary and cinematic works - an inflexible and unyielding father. Thus, adopting this narrative is an act of taking the easy way out.

To delve deeper, the movie primarily focuses on Ember's father's prejudice towards and disapproval of Wade. However, this actually obscures the real situation, which is more worthy of exploration.

Instead of the irrelevant conflicts within Ember's family, I am eager to witness the challenges and resistance she will encounter while assimilating into a new city and Wade's family. It is clear from both a racial and class perspective that Wade's family represents the upper class (elite white people), and their "tolerance" of Ember (a person of color from a lower class) is the sort of condescending tolerance that the upper class has for the lower class. It is impossible from them to shake off their inadvertent haughtiness and arrogance driven by Western centrism.

I too was also duped into defending this phenomenon by thinking, "It's just an animated film. How can we expect it to tackle such profound issues?" But I quickly woke up to reality. Pixar has positioned itself to not only make films for children. As such, it should keep up with the times rather than regress with every new film. Furthermore, this is not only a matter of keeping up with the times, but also a question of its creator's attitude towards creativity. Since the creator has chosen to address racial and class issues, then he should boldly confront them. Although Elemental does not explicitly depict these issues, all adults will be able to grasp its connotations. He may not provide answers to these problems, but should at least not avoid or oversimplify them.

Films about ethnicity have the potential to explore themes beyond the family unit. It is time for creators to step out of the family boundaries and examine themselves using the larger community structure.