First Take: Elemental - a Pixar *original*, back exclusively in cinemas

SYNOPSIS: In a city where fire, water, land, & air residents live together, a fiery young woman & a go-with-the-flow guy will discover something elemental: how much they have in common.

When two people walked out of last night’s Odeon Screen Unseen when this film’s BBFC black card came up (as well as at least another five within the first reel of the film), it was going to be a tough ride to win over an audience expecting a more adult release than a PG animated film - but at long last, Pixar are back making original movies, for big screen release first rather than day and date on Disney+. And oh how we have missed that charm that only the teams in Emeryville can create, because while it’s not their strongest, it is brilliant to see them make something new again.

Peter Sohn, director of The Good Dinosaur - widely regarded as one of Pixar’s weakest - takes charge of his second feature with the studio, and it does feel like he learned a lot of lessons from that 2015 critical mauling, as a lot of the issues he faced making that film were rectified, especially as it is based on his experiences growing up in New York. It’s paced well, coming in at a tight 1 hour 42 minutes, and even though the script from John Hoberg, Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh is a bit too formulaic at times (especially if you know the Pixar back catalogue in depth), the core audience of this film - the family market - are going to have a good time with this one, especially with the humour that these films are known for. Visually, this is one of their strongest, showcasing the sheer power available to animators now, which is even more impressive considering that the last two of its seven years in production were remote due to Covid. Thomas Newman’s score also does the job as you would expect, and one thing to note - get there early to see the new Pixar short before the film.

On to the cast, and it’s safe to say they did a good job here - Leah Lewis and Mamadou Athrie are two very likeable leads, Ronnie Del Carmen and Shila Athrie are your typical Pixar parent figures, and rounding out the cast is Catherine O’Hara, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and many many more, who all create a city that clearly feels like it took influences from fellow Disney ‘opposites attract’ film Zootropolis - because while this is a strong Pixar standalone film, at times it does feel like they are trying too hard to be original and not rely on the more human side of the stories they tell. But one thing’s for sure, the future is looking brighter. We know Elio is their next new release in March, before returning to Inside Out next June. Is it too little too late for them? Only time will tell.

THE VERDICT

While it’s not a Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Up or Inside Out kind of masterpiece, it is refreshing to see that Pixar do still have the occasional moment of promise when it comes to original content. Whether it will play well here in England, considering it is opening against Mission Impossible on July 7th (and then the double hit of Oppenheimer and Barbie the week later), remains to be seen - it will have a good school holiday run, but if the American response is anything to go by… this is going to be a box office battle to watch.

RATING: 4/5