On June 16, the movie “Elemental” from Disney Pixar was released. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie made a total of 403.7 million dollars globally. However, this does not compare with Pixar’s other movies, such as “Coco” which has nearly made double the amount of money at 814.3 million dollars globally. Ultimately, this raises the question if the movie meets the standard of other Pixar works.

I went to see the movie around two weeks after it was released. One thing that I immediately noticed was that the theater was mainly empty, unlike other movies that have been released this summer, such as “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer.” The movie scored a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics claimed that “It may not be as satisfying as other Pixar movies.” I disagree with this opinion.

Going into the movie, I really did not know what to expect. The main gist of this movie is that these four elements, fire, water, earth, and air are all living together in this same city. However, as I continued watching the movie, I realized that there was a much deeper meaning behind the movie and the plot. It showed the struggles of immigrant parents and how they are treated when coming to a new place through Ember’s, the main character, parents. These fire elements were treated harshly and differently, and they struggled in this city.

Another theme that I picked up on was the pressure put on children by their parents to follow the path that they want them to. In the movie, Ember’s parents pressure her into taking over their family store after her father retired. Her whole life she was pushed in this direction and it was all she really knew. In reality, it is revealed that Ember did not want to pursue this path, and was only doing so to make her parents happy and proud of her. This can be mirrored back on to today’s day and age when children sacrifice their own dreams and happiness in order to feel like their parents are proud of them for what they do.

Overall, I felt like this movie was incredible. It has many different themes and points that were incredibly relatable to me, and I thought the overall plot was funny and well-written. While it may not have the charm of other Pixar works, it is still a very good movie.

On this blog, members of the Carmel High School chapter of the Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists (and the occasional guest writer) produce curations of all facets of popular culture, from TV shows to music to novels to technology. We hope our readers always leave with something new to muse over. Click here to read more from the MUSE Summer Series.