'Elemental' review: Pixar's latest has great animation, muddled story

In “Elemental,” a fiery girl named Ember meets a watery guy named Wade. Together, they must overcome their differences, confront long-standing prejudices and team up to save the people of Element City from destruction. “Elemental,” if you haven’t guessed, is a Pixar film — the latest attempt from the animation studio to bring abstract ideas to life.

Pixar did that brilliantly in “Inside/Out,” the story of two emotions co-existing in an adolescent’s brain, and in “Monsters, Inc.,” about childhood fears who embark on a journey of self-discovery. A romantic comedy-adventure about fire and water (talk about opposites!) seems right up Pixar’s alley. In “Elemental,” however, the concepts are so vague and ill-defined that the studio’s famous powers of imagination seem to have finally met their match.

Despite its title, “Elemental” is one overly complicated movie. It begins as an immigrant story, when Ember’s parents arrive in Element City and their unpronounceable names are changed to Bernie and Cinder. (Director Peter Sohn, a Korean American, co-wrote the story inspired by his own family lore.) Ember is destined to run dad’s shop, The Fireplace, which sells “authentic” cuisine like Kol-Nuts (compressed, charred wood) and Lava Java. When she meets Wade — a big crier, in contrast to her hot temper — a forbidden romance develops. Initially, though, the two are just trying to figure out how to stop the wakes of passing cruise ships from bursting the dams and pipes of Element City.

Regarding that last bit: Huh? It’s one of many convoluted plot-points in a film that ought to be sticking to fundamentals (like, say, a villain; there isn’t one). The rules of this elemental world are so complex, yet so unclear, that we’re constantly nagged by questions. If fire-people get doused by water, how can Wade and Ember ever touch? Why is some water sentient and some water just water? There are also air-people and earth-people in this movie; what do they do?

On the plus side, the animation is warm-hued and often enchanting; Thomas Newman’s delicate, African-inflected score can be stirring; and the voices of Ember (Leah Lewis) and Wade (Mamoudou Athie) suit their characters perfectly. (Ronnie del Carmen, as Ember’s doting, old-world dad, is also terrific.) But the story is a mishmash of ideas — some metaphorical, some symbolic, some so literal that they cancel out the others.

“Elemental” isn’t entirely devoid of magic. Its themes of young love, filial devotion and difficult choices are recognizable and universal; if only the filmmakers had figured out a way to bring them more clearly to the screen. Instead of making everything so complicated, “Elemental” should have gone back to basics.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com