Picture this: You’re sitting in front of a computer, the screen slightly dimmed, and your teacher is talking in the front of the classroom. Your fingers are hovering over the W, A, S, D keys, and your friend’s fingers are hovering over the arrow keys.
The browser opened on your computer? CoolMathGames.com. The game on the screen? Water Boy and Fire Girl.
Fast forward to Sept. 13, and Disney and Pixar’s Elemental is released on Disney+.
I watched the movie with my two sisters at home and again with my sorority sisters at the Tri Delta house. Both times I watched it, I enjoyed it, and it earned a high ranking on the list of my favorite movies, which is a hard feat.
The movie features two main characters: Ember, who is a fire person, and Wade, who is a water person.
Ember is the daughter of Bernie and Cinder, who left Fireland and moved to Element City. Element City is where all the water people, fire people, earth people, and cloud folk (mostly) live in harmony. Element City isn’t exactly built with fire people in mind, so when Bernie and Cinder arrive, they struggle to find a place to stay. They eventually find somewhere to settle and open a shop called “The Fireplace.”
Sound familiar? The movie is animating real-life situations and telling them through characters made of elements. For me, it puts into perspective how cruel the world can be.
Moving on, Wade is a city inspector, and he isn’t afraid to share his emotions, especially emotions that make him cry. For me, this makes him a lovable character, not only because he’s vulnerable but also because of his sense of humor. Ember is also an enjoyable character whose strong will and love for her family make her easy to connect with.
The movie has two main storylines: Ember and Wade trying to save The Fireplace and Ember and Wade’s relationship.
The Fireplace is put into jeopardy when Wade reports multiple violations to the city after he gets sucked into the basement of the store because of a leak in the pipes caused by Ember. Ember enlists Wade’s help to stop these violations from getting to the higher-ups because she is set to take over her father’s store.
However, as the movie progresses, she discovers more to life, and her relationship with Wade grows. She comes to realize she doesn’t want to own the store. This storyline enables audience members to connect with Ember.
The other storyline, Wade and Ember’s relationship, is why it is one of my favorite movies. I’m a sucker for a good romance and a happy ending, so watching Ember and Wade grow their friendship and then their love for each other throughout the movie made my heart happy.
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Wade and Ember discover that they can touch, and then they dance. The overall message, animation, and score tie the scene together, which made it earn “whoops” and “cheers” from my sisters, myself, and my sorority sisters.
So, if you aren’t busy playing Fire Boy and Water Girl, turn on Disney+ and watch Elemental, because the animation is beautiful, the messages in the movie are important and the storyline will make you smile.
