What do you get when you combine immigration and animation?  You get Elemental.  Like many other big Disney titles (I am looking at you Wish), the company likes to bombard you with previews until all you can think is whatever is their next hit . . . until they come up with something else.  While I do my best to keep the Mouse worm from getting into my brain, based on my repeated watching of the trailer, I did not expect Elemental to contain the themes to which I already alluded.  Star crossed lovers?  Sure.  Divergent parts of society learning to get along?  Absolutely.  Yet, portraying the Fire, er . . . people(?) as immigrants is perhaps too on the nose for most Disney offerings.  As an adult, I understand it.  Much of this, I assume, would go over the head of your average adolescent sitting in front of whatever screen that is playing the film.  Or is it that the Mouse is actually trying to control the minds of our youth?  If so, I think there are far more nefarious means of doing so than this movie.

I was not kidding about the immigrant aspect of Elemental.  Bernie (voiced by Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder Lumen (voiced by Shila Ommi) literally “get off the boat” as newcomers to whatever it is you call Element City in a geo-political sense.  I was already confused, not just because of the unevenness of the way the physics of this world are applied, but also because they appear to be the first of their kind to arrive in this place.  They are generally ignored, except when it comes to finding housing.  They are turned down by the other elements (air, earth, and water) who fear what fire can do to them.  After much searching, they come to a seemingly forgotten part of town and begin to build their life there, soon attracting other fire people.  This is not an uncommon story for real life people from other countries, but does a nine-year-old shoving candy and popcorn in their face care about such matters?  Anyway, Bernie opens up what passes for a local grocery, and soon there is a distinct, one might call it ethnic, neighborhood growing up around the Lumens.  At her father’s side, excited to help in the store, is Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis).  As she gets older, Bernie tells his daughter that one day the business will be hers.  This also comes with the responsibility of keeping alive their traditions, though an added one that they have adopted since getting to Element City is that the elements do not mix.  Simply by being a living, breathing human, you can understand this to a certain degree.  Fire and water famously do not go together well.  Thus, on the day when Ember is finally getting the opportunity to run the store on her own, on red sticker sale day no less, you can imagine how frantic she becomes when a temper tantrum on her part causes water pipes in the basement to burst.  From one of these leaks springs (literally and figuratively) Wade Ripple (voiced by Mamoudou Athie).  He is a water person who works for the Element City government as a public works inspector.  He also cries at the slightest emotional moment, which is how he reveals himself to Ember.  He is further dismayed when he informs her of a number of code violations he is dutybound to report that could lead to the closing of their business.  Before she can say anything, he leaves, forcing her to track him down all the way to city hall in order to prevent him from filing the citations.  Again, he is moved, but too late as they have already been passed on up the chain of command.  He is also (please forgive me) developing the hots for Ember.  Thus, he eagerly invites her to meet up the next day so that they can go to Wade’s boss, Gale Cumulus (Wendy McLendon-Covey).  Though the meeting between Ember and Gale is not initially civil, she relents and says if Ember and Wade can figure out the source of the water and how to stop it, she will not enforce the violations.  It turns out to be a breach in a lock (or dam, or something) that is causing water to flow through parts of town that it does not normally go to, namely where the Fire people live.  Ember and Wade’s first solution is to simply throw a bunch of sandbags in front of the gap, but those prove only a temporary fix.  A more long-term solution is found by Ember, who turns the sand into glass to plug the gap.  With all this going on, it means that Ember and Wade are spending a lot of time together.  Ember’s parents are not keen on their daughter hanging around a water person.  Wade’s family, though, welcomes Ember into their home.  They are also impressed when Ember mends a broken water pitcher, using the heat to create not only a functional water holder, but a work of art.  Wade’s mother, Brook Ripple (voiced by Catherine O’Hara), spots Ember’s talent and encourages her to do something with it.  Unbeknownst to Ember, Cinder had followed her daughter to the Ripple’s place, smelling love on her only, um . . . child(?).  Wade is also excited to see Ember use her creative talents, but the weight of Bernie’s dreams for her make her hesitant.  She does have a surprise ally in the form of Cinder, who does her matchmaking ceremony and sees that Ember and Wade are a fit.  However, this comes as Bernie officially announces his retirement, giving Ember her own sign for the storefront.  She is touched, and tells Wade that they cannot be together.  Yet, just as he is about to depart, he sees from across the city Ember’s glass patch break and water begin roaring through the fire section.  He immediately rushes to help Ember, and they get trapped in the storeroom.  This generates a lot of heat, partially because of Ember, and eventually Wade evaporates.  It is when Bernie gets to a heartbroken Ember that her father finally understands.  It is such a touching scene that the moisture left in the room begins crying, denoting that Wade has survived.  We close with them going off together for a glass making internship for Ember.

One of the tag lines for Elemental is that it is just “good chemistry.”  I wonder what an actual chemist thinks of that statement?  At any rate, add chemistry to the list of subtle themes that I am willing to bet are lost on the audience at which this is primarily aimed.  What interests me more is the concept of traditions versus being more open to so-called modern sensibilities.  This is an idea that is certainly not lost on a practicing Catholic.  The Church is accused of being increasingly passé in a world that seemingly celebrates moral ambiguity.  On a more micro level, we see the idea of being torn between two worlds in Ember.  There is a moment that piqued my Catholic sensibilities when she talks of asking the “blue fire” for what she should do: stick with what her family wants of her, or follow her own dreams.  From a certain point of view, this is not unlike how Catholics are meant to discern God’s calling.  Ember’s follow up to this is a typical one for many Catholics: she does not get anything from it.  Of course, I am not going to tell you that prayer is ineffectual.  That could not be further from the truth.  Ember eventually comes to the conclusion that her temper is telling her that inheriting the family business is not her path.  This is a great way of looking at something I have often discussed in my reviews, and that is finding that individual way in which God is talking to you.  I promise you He is doing so, right now, even as you read this article.

What you have gotten from me about Elemental is another example of a slightly crotchety, middle-aged man not entirely understanding an animated feature.  I do not have to, either.  As far as I can tell, despite my suggestion of ulterior motives on Disney’s part, this is pretty innocuous.  In this manner, if the pretty colors can distract your young one for almost two hours, then be thankful for that time of peace.  While doing so, perhaps you can ponder how God is talking to you today.