Elemental (E), Watson. Simple and touching new Pixar rom-com review

Just like in life, timing can be everything in cinema, too. Stories of films that later became cult are not uncommon but were released in the wrong historical periods (Donnie Darkoin cinemas six weeks after September 11, 2001) or face fierce competition (Intrepid Mouse Detective And Fievel lands in AmericaThey come out a short distance from each other). In case Elements And to explain the lukewarm reception from audiences and critics, it’s a combination of the two. the New Pixar moviehowever, deserves attention and applause for the non-trivial approach to the topic and the advertising It is rarely covered in the world of animation.

Elements It is a love story in its broad sense: in the city of its elements Land, air and water coexist, while the Fuch people instead relegate to the fringes, in some kind of ghetto or Little Fire. Ember and her family live here, who own a food store dedicated to people just like them. Ember’s dream is, on paper, to inherit the shop from her tired, almost lifeless father, but on her way she meets A grumpy town inspector, Watery WadeHis job forced him to close the shop due to some infractions. Their confrontation/conflict will bring them closer and closer, to try to save the shop and give a practical answer to the most famous saying about love: Do opposites really attract? Is there hope for them to be happy?

Directed by Peter Soon (Already burned with failure Arlo trip), Elements It’s a movie where the title says it’s a proverbial show, sort of omen name: narrative is reduced to basic terms, A pure and simple rom-com that is almost outdated compared to the sophistication of modern taste. This is the first obstacle to its success compared to contemporary Spider-Man: Through the Spider-VerseAnd Elements It goes in the exact opposite direction in terms of rhythms, texture and depth, to remind us of that Not only multiverse visual effects and stunning live animation.

This is evidenced, for example, by a selection Abandon real elements of external hostility: the world building of Elemental is not much different from that of ZootopiaBoth are set in cities inhabited by different identities with difficult coexistence, but compared to the thriller plot of the Disney classic, the Pixar film remains on the surface and limited to the novel. A love story on many levels. Towards others but above all to themselves: Ember must understand not only her place in the city, but also her true feelings for the path followed by her parents and her child. No evil, no evil plan to thwart: “Just a water boy standing in front of a divorced girl and asking her to love her“to rework an essential romantic comedy Notting Hill.

The first theme is then mixed with some equally obvious sub-plots which in the current historical period (the second hurdle) which Each attempt to talk about inclusion, acceptance and empathy accused of being An expression of an alleged “awakened” globalization agendaPerceived risk exposure Elements And his intentions. The Ember family’s story is clearly that of immigrants: a holy family who left Tierra del Fuego in search of a future and after a ship voyage sought shelter from door to door. Furthermore, the way the Fire Elementals are isolated and silenced is clearly an attempt to talk about racism, inclusivity, and other issues on the agenda about which there is still deep social disagreement today.

Elements So it was found in She walks on a fine narrative line that separates simplicity and rhetoric: he does not want to create complex plots or even burden political and social debate, but confines himself to staging (beautifully) and with humor a love story between opposing elements, conveying the idea and the suggestion that even water and fire can coexist. Suggestion that leaving the metaphor may want to remember that In everyday reality, these fundamental differences do not exist Is that omnia amor vincit.

Image: Pixar

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