How many more everyday objects can Pixar possibly give googly eyes and mouths to?
The answer, as Buzz Lightyear would say, appears to be “to infinity and beyond!”
Because for their new “Elemental,” the struggling animation studio has picked their most rudimentary characters ever — fire and water.
Far from the ingeniously realized robot in “Wall-E” or the scrappy rodent chef of “Ratatouille,” here simple flames gab, droplets ride the subway and blades of grass work office jobs. Fire riding a bicycle — really? The movie walks a fine line between clever adventure and Pixar self-parody.
ELEMENTAL
Running time: 103 minutes. Rated PG (some peril, thematic elements and brief language). In theaters June 16.
The place is Element City, a New York-y metropolis inhabited by anthropomorphic wind, water, fire and earth citizens.
The story’s most inspired idea is that all the elements represent different immigrant groups who sometimes butt heads.
The family of Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis) came by ship from Fire Land, and when they arrived in town they were turned away by prejudiced landlords.
“No Fire,” reads one mean sign at the home of Dry Leaves. Seriously, though, can you blame Dry Leaves?
In “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”-style, second-generation Ember’s mom and dad want her to take over their convenience store and restaurant, which serves up spicy coal dishes to other fire folks craving a taste of home.
But Ember has bigger dreams, which she starts to realize when she meets a dweebish city building inspector named Wade (Mamoudou Athie), who comes from a wealthy family of, um, suspended liquids.
At first the opposites spar, because Wade wants to shut down the shop for code violations, but they eventually begin a “Romeo and Juliet” story of forbidden love.
Heat and H2O make a more dangerous combo than a Montague and Capulet, apparently. Ever been in a sauna?
As viewers have come to expect from Pixar, the film’s fuel is abundant heart and meticulous detail. The world of Element City, with Queens- and Brooklyn-esque boroughs across a river, bustles with distinctive architecture and subcultures. There is no one visual influence, but you can sense far-flung inspirations from North Africa, South America, Greece and China.
Accompanying the splendid environment, however, is a hackneyed script that plods along with roughshod dialogue.
For instance, Ember’s proud dad, Bernie, refuses to let the world “water us down!” My eyes rolled at all the earnestly delivered puns about fire and air.
And the narrative of director Peter Sohn’s movie is a muddle. The villain of sorts is civic engineering. A wall threatens to break and flood much of the city, potentially killing the fire people. Ember’s personal connection to the peril is tenuous.
The love story is nice, but Ember and Wade’s relationship also goes from zero to 60 awfully fast. There have been many a romance told inside of two hours, but these guys’ instant gushiness is awkward and doesn’t ring true — even for CGI blobs.
Pixar is a pro at being emotionally manipulative regardless. There are plenty of “aww”s and some near-tears here. And it’s certainly not as bad as “The Good Dinosaur” or as lame as “Cars 3.”
But nearly 30 years on, the studio is its own worst enemy. Viewers will leave underwhelmed, because they’ve seen so many of Pixar’s superb movies really catch fire.
