Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Elemental.
At one time, the elements on the periodic table only included earth, wind, fire, and water before scientists started to look into it further and separate those into the 118 that exist today. Imagine a film based on those original elements animated anthropomorphically to tell a story that has a deep social message—that’s… fundamentally… what Elemental is about.
Some elements go great together, and others, not so much. This is the premise of the Disney and Pixar collaboration directed by Peter Sohn and written by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, and Brenda Hsueh. The underlying theme is whether or not various cultures can get along in society and how relationships can be formed between people of conflicting backgrounds.
Ember Lumen and Wade Ripple are the central characters, the fire and water. Ember wants to run her father’s convenience store and Wade is a water element health inspector. Notice the apt names—Ember and Wade—as well as their careers, which make more sense when the story reveals that the convenience store is named the Fireplace.
Of course, Ember and Wade can’t possibly have a relationship. Water puts fire out and heat makes water evaporate. How would they ever even be able to hold hands or hug each other? On a more subtle note, this has been the question that has plagued the world for ages. There are cultures who stand strongly opposed, forbidden to commingle. When two people fall in love, they stand the chance of being excommunicated if the worlds they come from are serious enough about their xenophobia.
Ember’s father tells her the story of how his father refused him a sacred bow when he left his homeland in search of Element City. That is how deeply the scars run, and those feelings are what cause problems when it comes to her relationship with Wade. He simply came to the Fireplace to investigate a flooded basement when she had a fiery outburst and busted a water pipe. This chance meeting starts poorly, but as they spend more time together, they learn more about each other and develop feelings for one another.
While Ember denies her emotions, Wade outright declares his love. She doesn’t know how to deal with it, but a little dramatic twist has a way of bringing out her true feelings. As the result of another flood, Ember and Wade are trapped together in a room where heat is gradually building. When Wade evaporates, Ember realizes what she lost.
However, anyone who knows water knows it’s still around. Evaporation is only vapor; it has the word right there in it. Vapor is just another state for water and that means Wade does have the ability to come back, which he does when he finally hears her confess her love for him. Fire and water finally kiss for the first time, and it works. Neither of them is destroyed by being together.
It’s a beautiful story that is currently earning a 75% Rotten Tomatoes score as well as a 7.2/10 IMDb rating. Pixar is great at computer animation, and Disney is great with storytelling, which makes this film an absolute triumph with a good lesson for kids to reflect on as they navigate the real world, having learned a little more about it.