The Cineworld Secret Screening 4 took place earlier tonight and there was so much speculation about what the movie could be such as Asteroid City and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but the Secret Screening 4 was Elemental which was one of our predictions, Elemental is the new movie from Disney/Pixar.
Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” is an all-new, original feature film set in Element City, where Fire,
Water, Earth and Air residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and
fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade
challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.
Before I head full on to my review, I have to mention the short film that we got before the main feature, Carl’s Date, the short film feature Carl from the wonderful movie UP who is voiced by Ed Asner in one of his final performances before his death in 2021 and Dug the dog (voiced by writer-director Bob Peterson).
Carl gets a phone call and is asked out on a date, that’s the plot of the short in a nutshell. But this charming and moving short is such a fantastic mini-movie in itself with the laughs from Dug and the emotional connection with Carl that we had with UP, especially when Carl picks up a photo of him and his wife Ellie together, the memories of UP come flooding back and it did bring a tear to my eye.
We did have a few walks out before Carl’s Date even started, mainly at the BBFC card saying Elemental, such a shame, then during the short a few more walked out, then when Elemental started several more, I counted 18 walkouts in all, but I suppose animated movies aren’t for everyone.
Now I wasn’t sure about seeing this movie, but being a Cineworld Unlimited Member I wasn’t losing out by staying put and checking out this new animated movie that I have to say looks wonderful, the CGI has certainly come leaps and bounds over the years and Elemental certainly has bright colours and some gorgeous looking scenes to watch on the big screen.
Over the years there have been some hit-and-miss with the Disney/Pixar movies, Lightyear was a bit of a letdown for me even though I enjoyed the IMAX aspect of the movie. With Elemental it took me a little time to get used to the design of the fire characters, but after a short while they worked and the CGI in the movie was certainly fantastic to watch. Look out for the rushing water in the movie, it looks fantastic and very realistic.
But besides the look of the film, the story to me was very touching and certainly touches on your emotions from time to time, Elemental is a love story and yes I know that there have been some mixed reviews on this movie, but for me, I enjoyed it so much more than I first thought I would.
There are plenty of laughs spread through the movie and some, as with most Pixar movies, aimed at adults to give them more than just a kid’s animated movie, there is a little something in the movie that is great for all ages from young to old, there wasn’t a single moment in the movie where I found myself wondering how much longer the movie had, which for me is a sign that I’m being entertained.
But what makes Elemental even more interesting is knowing that the story is based on director Peter Sohn’s life with his parents immigrating to the USA from Korea, with them not speaking a word of English they settled into the Bronx. Sohn’s family also opened up a grocery store names Sohn’s Fruits and Vegetables – similar to Ember’s family in the film.
The voice casting in the movie sounds great as does the score from Thomas Newman (Finding Nemo, WALL-E), the music is such a joy to listen to and it fits perfectly with the scenes throughout the movie, I’ve always been one to sit through credits for extra scenes but with Elemental I sat to the end listening to the wonderful music.
Peter Sohn has brought us a delightful-looking movie that is easy on the eyes, touches the heartstrings and tickles the chuckle muscles, if you enjoy Disney/Pixar movies then you may want to see Elemetal on the big screen to take in gorgeous-looking CGI.
Elemental opens only in cinemas on July 7, 2023.
A delightfully animated Pixar movie
Movie title: Elemental (2023)
Movie description: Follows Ember and Wade, in a city where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together.
Date published: June 20, 2023
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 49m
Director(s): Peter Sohn
Actor(s): Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie Del Carmen
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Summary
Elemental is a wonderful-looking movie that will touch the heartstrings.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
