Pixar’s new movie Elemental gets mixed first reviews

Elemental has received its first reviews — and reactions are mixed to Pixar’s latest flick, continuing a worrying recent trend for the animation studio.

Elemental depicts a world where beings are made out of the four elements — fire, water, earth, and air. These beings live together in a massive city and the film follows a fire being, Ember, and a water being, Wade, who meet and, if you’ll pardon the pun, sparks fly.

However, reviews have been mixed. At the time of writing (Sunday, May 28), the movie has a score of just 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a rundown of some of the first reviews:

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“For all Elemental’s many charms, this nonsensical film simply doesn’t cut the mustard.”

“A flawed but big-hearted tale of forbidden love.”

“While unlikely to feature on many people’s favourite Pixar lists, Elemental brings with it the satisfying creak of a ship being righted.”

“The elements all fit perfectly into place — so much so that the creative flames are doused, and we’re left without much of an impression.”

“I reckon there are more ideas per second of screentime in Elemental than any other Pixar movie to date. So why does this imagination-teasing opposites-attract rom-com feel like a misfire?”

“As conflicted as they come: a heavy-handed, mixed-bag immigrant metaphor punctuated by a genuinely moving romance. It gets frequently lost down the rabbit hole of its own conceptual details but yields occasionally stunning images and thoughtful aesthetics.”

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The film, which has had its UK release date pushed back by a month, features Leah Lewis as Ember and Jurassic World: Dominion‘s Mamoudou Athie as Wade, while Schitt’s Creek star Catherine O’Hara also features.

Pixar recently announced two surprise movies: a sequel to Inside Out and Toy Story 5. Pixar boss Pete Docter assured fans that Toy Story 5 would be “surprising.” The studio will hope that both of these projects will be more roundly welcomed and well-received than Elemental has been.

Elemental will be released in UK cinemas June 16, 2023.

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