Watched in the cinema (89th visit in 2023 2/2)

The Corona years shook up the entire film industry. But hardly anyone was hit as hard by the upheavals as Pixar. For a long time, the animation studio was considered the undisputed leader. No one else succeeded in a comparable way in entertaining entire families in equal measure, earning strong reviews and also hitting the box office. The latter is now a thing of the past. Three of their films - "Soul," "Luca" and "Turning Red" - I only watched the first- have been relegated to the in-house streaming service Disney+. "Lightyear," the first proper theatrical release in years, went down hopelessly in the aftermath, although it was a fun adventure. Its director Angus MacLane, a longtime studio employee, was recently fired along with dozens of colleagues, and the crisis is hard to hide. It would be all the more important for "Elemental," the 27th film from the studio, to finally be a box office hit. At least in the States, it doesn't look like that will happen. In Germany, the film was able to take the top position on the first weekend, but in purely numerical terms, the golden times are obviously over.

The reviews were rather restrained. In fact, "Elemental" is hardly the great comeback in terms of quality that you would have wished for. This is not only due to the changed framework conditions. It's also due to the fact that Pixar hasn't distinguished itself through excessive originality lately. Of all things, the animation studio that had earned an excellent reputation for imaginative scenarios seems to be treading water. One frequently voiced criticism of the new film is that it simply rehashes a tried-and-true Pixar principle - what if an object or abstract concept were alive? - is rehashed. What used to be toys, cars or feelings are now elements.

That's true, of course. In addition, the RomCom is not exactly a prime example of creative storytelling. When two completely opposite characters meet and can't get along at all at first, only to develop feelings for each other, that's one of the most frequently used narrative conventions of the genre. It doesn't change anything that here it's fire and water that provide the opposites. While "Elemental" is disappointing in that respect, the film does have qualities. For example, the motif of immigration, combined with the subsequent search for identity, is very beautiful. Comparable to "Encanto", it is about the following generations of migrants and how they search for their own place. There is a lot of potential for connection at this point, especially since the mixture of humor and heart works. There are some amusing moments in there.

And then there's the imagery. True, the designs of the two main characters are not overly unusual. However, the realization of the elements is fantastic. The same goes for the city we move through here. There are so many wonderful passages that you sometimes wish you could just stroll through the city and admire the effects. Of course, it's a shame that the content can only partially keep up. Still, Peter Sohn's second directorial effort is worth seeing and would deserve to find an audience. It's just that you can't expect "Elemental" to be on the level of the studio's earlier exceptional titles. But the animated film is certainly good.