Elemental, Disney and Pixar’s family-friendly feature film, made its theatrical release in June this year. The animated movie from Pixar tells the story of a world where the elements co-exist, and it had a rather rough start. Elemental didn’t do so well at its opening weekend in theaters. In fact, the film had one of the worst openings in Pixar’s history, with only $44.5 million globally. However, the film made an extremely strong rebound and has evolved into a noteworthy box-office success.

The film has now set records in terms of its achievements. Having had a theatrical run that accumulated over $486 million for the film, Elemental accrued an astounding 26.4 million views in a mere five days when the film was released on to Disney+. Successfully pushing out The Little Mermaid as the most-watched Disney movie premiere of the year, Elemental managed to double the number of views that The Little Mermaid attracted. The film is now within the top 10 best debuts in the history of Disney+. Considering its massive success, is Elemental really a must-watch for Pixar fans?

What Is Elemental About?
Pixar

Directed by Peter Sohn, Elemental is set in Element City, a world where the elements of fire, water, earth, and air co-exist but are still separate from each other. It is within such an environment that fire resident Ember Lumen, voiced by Leah Lewis, and Wade Ripple, a water resident, fall in love with each other.

Ember, tasked with running her father’s store on her own, erupts into flames and damages a water pipe that causes floods in the basement of the store when she loses her temper with customers. Wade, a City Inspector by profession, arrives to investigate and finds bad plumbing, which, if reported, will result in the store being shut down. However, a desperate Ember negotiates with Wade to save her father’s store, and so, the story of Ember and Wade begins.

Related: Elemental: The Best Pixar Easter Eggs

With a romance budding between the two, Ember and Wade have to learn to interact with each other. The film draws on the immigrant experience, with Ember and Wade belonging to different classes of society. The water element is more privileged, and Element City provides more benefits to Wade.

Ember, on the other hand, as one of the fire residents, is of a lower class in society. While Wade’s class has luxurious housing, Ember lives in a more secluded area, with the other elements viewing them as being dangerous. Ember and Wade touching each other also come with challenges since Ember can make Wade evaporate, and Wade can put out Ember’s fire. The two also have to deal with Ember’s father, who doesn’t look favorably at the Water residents as he thinks they are more privileged.

Weaving a story of how love can help overcome differences despite the opinions of society, Elemental becomes a narrative of overcoming prejudices, finding understanding, and promoting unity with the realization that commonality exists despite created boundaries.

Why Did Elemental Lose Out in Theaters?
Pixar

Although the creative team had high hopes for the film, Elemental didn’t achieve the expected levels of success when it was first released. With many outlets considering the movie a flop, it didn’t look like Elemental would go very far on the charts. Talking to Variety about the film’s disappointing opening weekend, Pixar’s president Jim Morris said:

“It was certainly disappointing from a revenue point of view. We felt pretty good about the film. We had a higher hope for its opening weekend, so we were a bit crestfallen.”

There are quite a few reasons behind Elemental’s initial flop at the box office. The film made its initial debut at the Cannes Film Festival. However, despite Pixar’s hope, the film didn’t receive high reviews, and critics were quite harsh towards the film. Given this, no hype was created for the movie before its theatrical release.

Elemental also premiered during an extremely busy time period in relation to films. The film had to compete with the likes of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Fast X, Transformers: The Rise of the Beasts, and The Little Mermaid. The Flash also made its debut on the same day that Elemental did. With a lot more hype and anticipation for the other films when compared with Elemental, it probably is no surprise that the film underperformed during its opening weekend.

Is Elemental a Must-Watch for Pixar Fans?
Pixar Animation Studios

Despite its slow journey to the top of the charts, Elemental has now firmly established itself as a family-friendly, must-watch film for Pixar fans. It is a beautiful story of overcoming differences and learning to build understanding, compromise, and live in unity with each other.

The film shows that boundaries built by society don’t always have to be adhered to. Sometimes, those who dare to go beyond limitations can make society that much better. The film encourages diversity. Depicting the various elements with characteristics that make them unique, Pixar’s Elemental conveys a message of the importance of individuality and the power behind coming together in diversity.

Related: Every Pixar Movie of the 2010s, Ranked

Elemental also becomes a visually interesting, refreshing learning experience for young viewers. With the core of the plot centered on elements of nature, viewers are exposed to the natural components that shape life around us. The film is also a pleasing visual experience. With a large spectrum of vivid and vibrant colors in the film, Elemental is able to attract the attention of anyone. The film brings the characteristics of the elements to life in mesmerizingly creative ways, with magical displays of the abilities of the elements.

If you are looking for a feel-good film suitable for the entire family that leaves you with something to think about in terms of visuals and message, Elemental is definitely a Pixar film worth watching. The film is now available for streaming on Disney+.