“Elemental”: the new animation from Pixar leaves nostalgia for the good old days

the story: A Pixar movie set in Element City, where the people of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air live together. The story introduces Chispa, a perceptive and reckless young woman, whose friendship with a cheerful, affectionate, and easygoing boy named Nilo challenges her beliefs about the world they live in.

“Elemental”: in theaters from July 13.

Review: Francisco Quintas

Thanks to the leap from 3D animation during the 1990s, Pixar quickly cemented a respectable reputation among the animation production companies that were beginning to rival Disney.

Such a change in the global entertainment paradigm was also exemplified by a slightly different narrative approach. The truth is that the animation genre, in favor of an all-ages-appropriate, “family-friendly” tone, boasts a favorite premise: the young main character discovers or encounters a giant, scary world.

While not entirely off-limits to this idea, it was works like “Toy Story” (1995), “Monsters and Company” (2001) and “Looking for Nemo” (2003) that allowed Pixar to create a distinct brand image. , compared to the usual Disney romance and fantasy scenes stories. However, after nearly 30 years of countless commercial and artistic successes, it can no longer be said (anymore) that “we don’t mess with the winning team.”

For several years now, Pixar has been its biggest competitor in the sense that it’s battling a predictability that’s already becoming difficult for hardcore fans or even casual audiences to ignore. As amusing, charming, and visually appealing as it is in the latest stories, one suspects an over-commitment to plays from the past.

However, it’s too early to conclude whether this is due to a lack of imagination or Disney’s cunning hand. Recall that the house of Mickey Mouse was acquired by Pixar in 2006 for almost seven billion dollars, with the aim of fruitful cooperation. It seems the opposite is happening now: a dirty Pixar company controlled by its parent company.

This means that “Elemental” occupies an unflattering place in the studio’s films, surpassed only by “Cars 2” (2011) and Arlo’s Voyage (2015). The latter, by the way, was also written by Peter Sohn, the director who, oddly enough, chose to present a screenplay full of unique possibilities. This script was written with eight hands: those of Sun himself and the junior writers.

By accusing Peter Sohn, yet again, of the animation’s insensitivity, it’s doomed to awkward phrasing, full of rushed, self-explanatory and sometimes melodramatic moments. It’s incomprehensible that children’s audiences should be underestimated, assuming they can’t follow the plot and the feelings of the characters. Perhaps the most disturbing mistake in a movie of this type.

“Elemental” will be one of the Pixar titles with the most repetitive humor, and the most matching minor characters on a single note. Slowly, it becomes ineffective and intrudes on many scenes that were supposed to be subtle and even muted. Let me repeat: a child can fully understand what is going on in a character’s mind without being told all the time.

Fortunately, the film also reopens the window on the studio’s evolution and audiovisual creativity, as well as its knack for recruiting young talent. In this allegory about society’s alienated ignorance and prejudice, the main duo, in the original version, by Leah Lewis and Mamodo Athie, embody the characters with a dramatic bluster.

There is, on the other hand, no great effort to overcome the obstacles expected of a love story forbidden in the eyes of family and society, not even a look at the upbringing of Cidade Elemento, at least one beyond the humor implicit in the various inhabitants.

Justice is served. Fortunately, the lackluster reception of a Pixar product is an uncommon phenomenon. The overwhelming part of her portfolio continues to serve as reference and inhabit cinematic hearts. Faced with self-indulgence as the bedtime story’s new supervillain, it’s half the battle to get rid of the mean.