Élémentaire

De manière surprenante, le film a été projeté lors de la cérémonie de clôture du festival, après la remise des prix. Honnêtement, j’ai souffert pendant les trente premières minutes et j’ai eu envie de partir, mais je me suis dit que je ne pouvais pas quitter ma dernière projection à Cannes. Finalement, il y a eu une sorte de rupture et le film a commencé à me plaire, avec même une petite touche d’émotion vers la fin. Je n’ai pas vu En avant, Soul et Alerte rouge, et je ne peux donc pas comparer Élémentaire à ces films récents ou aux dernières réalisations de Pixar... Mais pour l’amour de Dieu, si je prends par exemple Monstres & Cie (selon moi le meilleur), Le Monde de Nemo, Les Indestructibles, Rebelle, Vice-versa, et Coco, il s’agit de films d’un niveau radicalement supérieur, tandis qu’Élémentaire, je suis désolée de le dire, est terriblement ennuyeux et n’atteint pas le degré de qualité des films Pixar, bien qu’il y ait des scènes qui m’ont fait rire et m’ont émue, même si l’émotion était un peu trop appuyée… (Luca est aussi un peu limite, soit dit en passant). Les enfants vont probablement aimer, c’est gai, coloré, mais aussi rempli de clichés populaires contemporains. [Festival de Cannes 2023] (31/05/2023)

Pixar, once the kings of animated films, have fallen quite a bit behind the competition, and Elementary isn't the next big hit either. It's better than Inside Out and Luca for me, but it's nowhere near the quality of Puss in Boots, The Mitchells vs. the Machines or Raya and the Last Dragon. The problem is that they've worked with a fairly original idea in an attractive world in a fairly unengaging form. I liked the premise with the different elements, it's just that they focus exclusively on water and fire (ignoring the other elements most of the time), and also focus on two specific characters and the love story between them, instead of exploring the world and its potential. So we are deprived of both action and funny interludes, as the humour here is punishingly little for a fairy tale. The love story itself is nicely presented and it's heartwarming in places, but I can't imagine the kids having much fun with it. I wasn't bored, but it could have been much better, 6/10. (21/08/2023)

In its mission and message, Elemental is reminiscent of the phenomenal Inside Out and Zootropolis, and even though it is a fairly straightforward story without any wow-effects (like Coco), it was nice to watch in the cinema thanks to the quality animation. As I already mentioned, the story is really simple (I missed some backstory to the water seepage), but nicely presented, without unnecessary infantile scenes and with more than one funny reference to the elements. Aside from the relationship angle, there is also the ever-present issues of immigrants and prejudice against "difference". A weaker four stars! (20/06/2023)

The beautiful visual style and overall sophistication of the City of Elements makes every shot a unique experience. Combined with Thomas Newman's unfailingly beautiful score, it is about the most beautiful experience to whizz through the cinema. The story is a little weaker, as it doesn't bring anything particularly new although it does a great job of making the romance work. Things sparkle between Ember Lumen and Wade Ripple despite the bare-bones dating line. The action is dynamic, makes clever use of the setting, and the humour mostly works. I was bombarded for most of the film with my daughter's nosy questions, like where is daddy, including what it means to die, so I'll probably watch it alone again. (19/08/2023)