Elemental (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

FAQs

Why did Elemental get bad reviews? ›

Elemental has several obvious glaring problems. For one thing, the attempt to make the elements' differences an overt metaphor for race/culture is shallow and misplaced at best most of the time. The story's themes and plot itself are about as worn-out and tired as the art of the story itself.

The woke, occult content in ELEMENTAL is gratuitous. It adds nothing to the story and will annoy many family moviegoers who don't want their children exposed to such content. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.

As seen in flashbacks throughout the movie, when Bernie and Cinder resided there, they tried to open a store similar to The Fireplace, but a disastrous storm destroyed it just as it was completed. Wanting a better life, they decided to immigrate over to Element City.

To date, Elemental has accumulated nearly $500 million in worldwide ticket sales to become — against almost all expectations — the year's ninth highest-grossing blockbuster, the most-watched title in Disney+ history, and a frontrunner in the Best Animated Feature Oscar scrum according to reputable gurus of gold.

Pixar is damaged as a big-screen brand. That was one of the rather glum takeaways from the weekend box office, which found “Elemental,” a $200 million-plus Pixar original, arriving to a disastrous $29.5 million in domestic ticket sales. “The Flash,” a Warner Bros.

There, Ember and the audience meet Wade's sibling, Lake (who in Elemental – The Junior Novelization is introduced as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns) and their girlfriend, Ghibli (a clear reference to the beloved Studio Ghibli), and they are the only two LGBTQ+ characters in Elemental.

In addition to the violent scenes mentioned above, Elemental has some scenes that could scare or disturb children under 5 years. For example: Ember gets deeply enraged on several occasions and explodes with fury, often setting things on fire. Her anger and ferocity may upset some very young viewers.

Elemental's racial allegories and dampened immigrant story

Elemental has received some criticism for its problematic racial allegories. In the film, the four elements—fire, water, air, and earth—are clearly racial metaphors. On the one hand, Elemental could've offered a very compelling discussion of racism.

Bernie promised his daughter the reins of the Fireplace when he retires. Years passed and Bernie became increasingly exhausted with working at the Fireplace, often coughing up smoke.

Who is Ember's father in Elemental? ›

Ronnie del Carmen as Bernie Lumen, Ember's father, Cinder's husband, and owner of their family's convenience store in Fire Town who plans to retire and pass the business down to Ember.

Ember's tempered glass is clearly thicker in parts than the maximum 3/4” thickness of standard tempered glass. It is not unreasonable to assume, then, that the failure was caused by the tensile stresses exceeding the fracture limit. By the end of the movie, Ember goes to intern with a glass manufacturing company.

Elemental's racial allegories and dampened immigrant story

Elemental has received some criticism for its problematic racial allegories. In the film, the four elements—fire, water, air, and earth—are clearly racial metaphors. On the one hand, Elemental could've offered a very compelling discussion of racism.

Elemental may not satisfy as fully as the greatest Pixar pictures, but it remains a solid story told with dazzling visual flair. With a heartwarming message and stunning animation, Elemental proves Pixar hasn't lost its touch.

Pixar's first non-binary character, Lake Ripple, belongs to the water element and is the younger sibling of Wade Ripple, the secondary protagonist in the film. In the movie, Lake briefly appears when Wade takes Ember home to introduce her to his family.