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Pixar Under Fire After New ‘Elemental’ Trailer Release

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Posted on by Averyl Fong 11 Comments
Ember, Wade, and Clod's character posts from Pixar's Elemental.

Credit: Pixar Studios

This new Pixar release is getting ripped apart by the internet.

Ember and Wade stand next to each other in Elemental.
Credit: Disney Pixar

Related: Pixar Faces Plagiarism Accusation

Pixar Animation Studios has been a film and animation industry leader for many years. Ever since their early days with Apple’s Steve Jobs bringing the world Toy Story (1995), the animation giant has led the pack. Eventually, The Walt Disney Company took notice and struck their historic deal, bringing Pixar Animation Studios into their fold as a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, until the full acquisition years later further solidified their dominance in the industry.

Toy Story Woody (left) and Buzz Lightyear (right)
Credit: Disney / Pixar

Pixar Animation Studios frequently dominates at the Oscars and other awards shows. So far, they’ve racked up an impressive 23 Academy Awards, 10 Golden Globe Awards, and 11 Grammy Awards to date. On top of all that, Pixar frequently has multiple movies nominated for the Best Animated Feature category, even within the same year, ever since its inception in 2001 — frequently beating out rival animation companies and studios like DreamWorks Animation, LAIKA Studios, Netflix Animation, and Sony Pictures Animation. 11 Pixar Animation Studios films have clinched this prestigious award, including Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Brave (2012), Inside Out (2015), Coco (2017), Toy Story 4 (2019), and most recently, with Soul (2020).

Carl and Ellie in 'Up' (2009)
Credit: Pixar

Related: Pixar CEO Explains Why Buzz Lightyear Film Tanked at Box Office

What is the newest Pixar movie about?

The newest Pixar project has had details announced at the D23 Expo this year, and its first trailer kicked up an online furor over Pixar’s seemingly massive decline in quality, with the public (including other animators) citing the work as the “laziest” the company has put out to date. Many felt it lacked innovation, relying on very stereotypical and generic tropes, as well as lacking the classic Pixar levels of expert worldbuilding and storytelling. Now, it appears that the internet is doubling down on those sentiments, as the movie Elemental, slated to hit theaters in June 16 this year, is getting the brunt of criticism.

FIRE AND WATER – Set in a city where fire-, water-, land-, and air-residents live together, Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. Featuring the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie as Ember and Wade, respectively, “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Credit: Disney Pixar

Elemental will be a love story between two “elemental” beings, produced by Denise Ream and directed by Peter Sohn, who also helmed The Good Dinosaur (2015). Leah Lewis will star as the voice of Ember, while Mamoudou Athie will play Wade, both elements and citizens of Element City. The official description of the new feature film reads:

In a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common.

Why are people so upset about Elemental?

Two hands from Elemental
Credit: Disney

Mostly, it’s because the movie is apparently indicating a worrying trend of what individuals are calling “bland” and “boring” animation that’s starting to get a little too formulaic for the historically groundbreaking studio. With a new trailer just released on March 28, Elemental has been slowly garnering quite a few negative takes from members of the public.

A common refrain is that the new trailer showcases a movie that appears far too “generic” and bland — and coming from genre-defining Pixar, that’s a serious step down. As user @KJohann61 comments, this new Pixar theatrical release is looking like “the most… played out” trope:

this has the most generic and played out story ever istg

It’s not all random hot takes from stray internet users, however. Real artists, including those specializing in 3D art, are lambasting the new Pixar film. Taking screenshots from the Elemental trailer, concept and background artist Othilie Daveau AKA Lilys Aart comments on the appalling render that is “student movie tier” or “early 2010 games”-level, citing that it looks straight from an early Nintendo Wii game:

the render looks so bad, student movie tier or early 2010 games, for real the textures 😭

for real gives me early WII games vibe

Amos Wacker chimes in, also commenting on the disappointing “render on the building”:

Amos Wacker: The render on the building Jesus Christ

Lilys Aart: Really reminds me of our very first maya classes in 3D school

Artist @NoodleDood also separately comments on the odd art choices, stating that the “fresnel shading” plus lack of shadows makes it “look like its an early 2000s video game”:

All I wanna say is that the fresnel shading on the fire people, mixed with them having no shadows makes some shots look like its an early 2000s video game

Other members of the public with less technical expertise just simply find the new Pixar release suspiciously formulaic, as @Cinema_Joe23 wonders if it was written by AI (artificial intelligence):

Did ChatGPT write this

The negativity doesn’t abate, as others like @BanonCat express that this is more like a “parody” of something by Pixar and not something actually from the beloved animation studio:

This feels like a parody of a Pixar movie

While others like @Sweggy_Spoder are commenting on this with the point of view that Disney (and Bob Iger) are likely trying to distract from the recent 7,000 layoffs within The Walt Disney Company — with trailer releases like Pixar Elemental‘s meant to cover up the worrying news:

Look shiny new trailer! Don’t worry about those 7,000 layoffs!

Either way, while a fair share of the public do seem enthused for the new Pixar movie Elemental — it stands to reason that with their past two releases being relegated to Disney+, the Pixar Animation Studio has to prove their worth with this upcoming theatrical release — not just to parent company Disney, but to mounting public scrutiny. As Iger shuffles money around within Disney, who knows where Pixar will end up if Elemental fails to capture public imagination like so many of their prior hits have. Unfortunately, all of this backlash doesn’t seem to indicate a new “household name”-level animated film, the likes of Up, Toy Story, Coco or even Cars (2006).

What do you think about this new Pixar movie Elemental? Do you agree with any of these takes? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Averyl Fong

Averyl is a freelance writer and general nerd about entertainment, food, theatre, D&D - and of course, theme parks. Based in Singapore, she could wax poetic about the immersive genius of the Haunted Mansion, or regale you with her undying love for the campy beauty of Sindbad's Storybook Voyage - but she won't, because she has some compassion.

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