Film Talk: Does Pixar's Elemental burn brightly or drown in dull waters?

Disney had long dominated the animated movie market, having spent the last six decades spreading joy to millions of cinema-going children. Yet the House of Mouse was about to up its game with a partnership that would drive the output of Old Walt’s wondermachine into the new millennium.

In joining forces with Pixar Animation studios to release the world’s first entirely computer-animated feature film, Disney set the course for the future of the magic that it was famous for.

Toy Story was a box office-breaking behemoth and remains universally adored by critics. Perhaps more significantly though, it was the first child of the Disney-Pixar marriage – a union that has sired more beloved classics than we can now shake a stick at.

We all have our favourites of course – the inaugural adventure of Andy’s plastic pals being a firm one of mine. Yet, who didn’t want to grow up to be an employee at Monsters, Inc? And can any child of the 90s honestly tell me that they don’t practice their Crush, Bruce and Dory impressions on holiday every time the ocean beckons? “We’re here, kids! It’s time to track down Nemo!” Since 2006, Pixar has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, and under the watchful eye of its parent company has continued to churn out solid gold. 2007’s kitchen caper, Ratatouille, was a feast for the senses; Up (2009) raised the bar no end; and the studio kept its foot firmly to the floor with Cars 1, 2 and 3.

However, do we now have a new contender for the Pixar crown? It’s time to get fired up for Elemental – but does this one light a fire in our hearts, or drown us in disappointment? Let’s take a look...

ELEMENTAL (PG, 109 mins)

Released: July 7 (UK & Ireland)

Prefaced by the delightful short Carl’s Date, in which the curmudgeon from Up nervously prepares for a first romantic assignation since losing his wife Ellie, Elemental is a visually stunning computer-animated adventure set in a bustling metropolis where fire, water, earth and air residents exist side by side.

Element City is a melting pot of cultures and sly visual gags constructed to the design blueprints of Zootropolis, segregating flame-haired denizens from other tribes for fear of reducing the lush green foliage of earthy types to ashes or turning up the heat on water babies to an uncomfortable boil.

Peter Sohn’s romantic escapade draws inspiration from the director’s childhood as a first-generation immigrant and sows seeds of love between members of two feuding factions a la Romeo And Juliet, who can honour their parents’ wishes or acknowledge the quickening beat of their hearts.

The dazzling originality of previous Pixar outings fails to materialise as forbidden desire crescendos during a teary-eyed conclusion that delivers two emotional sucker punches in quick succession (parents should have tissues handy for a sob and sniffle in the dark).

Regardless of the derivative storytelling, Elemental is threaded with moments of wonder and jaw-dropping spectacle and Sohn’s personal history infuses a script penned by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh with lump-in-throat sentimentality.

Bernie Lumen (voiced by Ronnie del Carmen) and wife Cinder (Shila Ommi) are among the first fiery immigrants to Element City and they establish a home and thriving business at the beating heart of Fire Town.

The couple raise spirited daughter Ember (Leah Lewis) to distrust water elements and groom her to take over The Fireplace once she learns to control her volcanic temper.

One of these incendiary outbursts causes a burst pipe in the store’s basement and tender-hearted water element Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) splashes unexpectedly into Ember’s life.

He is a city inspector working for no-nonsense earth bureaucrat Fern Grouchwood (voiced by Joe Pera) and is duty-bound to report the leak.

Fern’s airy boss Gale Cumulus (Wendi McLendon-Covey), who assesses potential violations, wields the power to shut down the Lumen family business… unless Wade and Ember can track the source of a leak that currently blights Element City.

Wade’s sweetness and serenity catalyse new emotions for Ember and she reluctantly accepts she may be falling for the one element her father warned her against.

Elemental doesn’t shine as brightly as Pixar’s most polished gems including Wall-E, Toy Story 3 and Inside Out but even when the Oscar-winning animation studio falls short of its own impossibly high standards, audiences are the winners.

Fire, water, earth and air conjure complementary colour palettes, which Sohn and a vast army of animators deliver with verve to match Lewis and Athie’s energetic vocal performances. The intergenerational conflict of Onward, Luca and Turning Red percolates here too, underscoring a rousing central message of family legacy and self-sacrifice.

INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR (15, 107 mins)

Released: July 7 (UK & Ireland)

The Insidious film franchise began in 2010 with James Wan at the helm, following Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) and wife Renai (Rose Byrne) as they moved into a new house and fell victim to a malevolent force that haunted the property.

The story comes full circle in a fifth chapter penned by Scott Teems, which marks the feature film directorial debut of Wilson.

Ten years have passed since Josh and son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) escaped from The Further and reunited with Renai and the couple’s other son Foster (Andrew Astor).

Dalton is preparing to leave home for an Ivy League university.

Demons from the past resurface with a vengeance and threaten to destroy Dalton and everyone around him. The family rallies around the teenager and father and son prepare to return to The Further with the help of supernaturally gifted friend Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye).

Of this first time in the director’s chair, Patrick Wilson said: “Most everything was unexpected because I just didn’t know it.

“So I would surround myself with people and everyday I would say, ‘listen, you guys are all really good at your jobs and you’ve all done them more than I’ve done this job so let’s have an open line of communication.

“I kind of approach directing like I approach acting. “From the inside out. So I want positive attitudes.

“I think the best work comes out of people that have a good attitude. And I always wanted people to get home to their families or loved ones and get recharged for the next day. That’s much more important to me than just grinding a crew down to get your shot.”

If horror is your thing, it may not be a bad idea to catch up on the first five Insidious films before taking in this one.

THE DAMNED DON’T CRY (18, 111 mins)

Released: July 7 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)

Parent and child seek for a brighter future in a tender and provocative drama written and directed by Moroccan-British filmmaker Fyzal Boulifa.

Single mother Fatima-Zahra (Aicha Tebbae) and teenage son Selim (Abdellah El Hajjouji) are forced to relocate back to her home village where past and present collide, opening the boy’s eyes to the uncomfortable truth about his biological father. The pair move again to Tangier where the paths of Fatima-Zahra and Selim diverge.

She contemplates a period of stability as the second wife of married bus driver Moustapha (Moustapha Mokafih) while her son trades sex for the money of wealthy French man Sebastian (Antoine Reinartz).

The transactional nature of the relationship is complicated when Sebastian invites Selim to move into his lavish home under the auspices of being a live-in housekeeper.

SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING (15, 77 mins)

Released: July 7 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)

A dysfunctional team of superheroes requires quality time to recharge and rediscover their unifying spirit in a madcap French sci-fi horror directed by Quentin Dupieux. Ammonia (Oulaya Amamra), Benzene (Gilles Lellouche), Nicotine (Anais Demoustier), Mercury (Jean-Pascal Zadi) and Methanol (Vincent Lacoste) are the five members of Tobacco Force, who are frequently humanity’s last line of defence against the forces of evil.

A bruising battle against a diabolical giant turtle exposes fissures in the group’s armour and the bickering quintet are ordered to rebuild bridges during a mandatory week-long retreat.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE (12A, 163 mins)

Released: July 10 (UK & Ireland)

In 2022, Tom Cruise was credited with saving the summer blockbuster season with the high-flying acrobatics of Top Gun: Maverick.

This year, he performs more death-defying stunts for real in the opening salvo of a two-part action thriller directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who has been behind the camera since the thrilling fifth instalment of the franchise Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and fellow Impossible Missions Force (IMF) operatives Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) face a terrifying new adversary as they race to locate a deadly weapon.

Forces from Ethan’s past such as former IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) threaten the people that Ethan cherishes most including MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson).

With the fate of the world at stake, Ethan ignores the pleas of his team and wagers his life to guarantee success.