The latest Pixar animated movie left me all wet at first, but I did warm up to it as it went along…

Yes, I am ashamed of those puns.

Elemental featured the story of Ember (Leah Lewis), a young girl of the fire people living in a land where the other elements- air, water and land- live together, who is trying to convince her father Bernie (Ronnie Del Carmen) that she is ready to take over running their family store so he can retire.

However, during the important sale at the store, the pipes of the store burst, flooding the basement. The water also pulled in Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a local building inspector and a water person, who writes a bunch of tickets that would lead to the store’s closure. Ember chases after Wade in an attempt to stop him from turning in the tickets.

As they work together, Ember and Wade realize that there is a spark between them, despite being apparently incompatable.

I came into Elemental with very little anticipation. Though I always enjoy Pixar, this film was just not doing much for me. Then, it did not help that the film had an animated short featuring Carl and Doug from Up called Carl’s Date. I disliked this short a great deal. It was dull, repetitive and just not funny. It kicked off the afternoon in a poor manner.

The film then started and I had a real difficult time getting into the film. I was not enjoying the story, the characters felt way below the line of the usual Pixar work and I just did not like what I was watching. I was counting the time waiting for this to be over.

Of course, the animation continued to be absolutely gorgeous and at the high level of quality of Pixar movies. It could easily be considered a work of art. The character designs were good. I loved the way Ember’s nose moved like it was a flame.

As the film moved on, I started to become a little more engaged with the relationship between Ember and Wade. By the time the third act was underway, I was liking what I was watching more than I did before. It had won me over with its charm.

Elemental was a mixed bag for me. The story and the world did not grab my attention at first, but I did eventually found it entertaining. It was beautiful to look at for sure. It is a borderline recommendation for me.

3 stars