I will admit, I brushed this movie off. I saw some previews in theaters and thought, "It looks okay, I'll wait until it comes to Disney Plus." Now, I can thank a rainy day for getting me out to the theater to see this gem of a movie!
It had been raining in my area all week, I wanted to get out of the house and considered the movie theater. As I mentioned before, Elemental wasn't originally a "must see," for me, after all it's been in theaters for a couple of weeks now already, but I wanted to get out of the house and thought why not?
I was not expecting this movie to make me laugh & cry multiple times. Let me touch on the topics that brought out the most emotions.
Immigration: From the previews I thought okay we have fire & water main characters. A typical story about "opposites attract." What I didn't think the story would touch on is immigration. Ember and her family move to Elemental City from their homeland. Elemental City reminds me of America because it's suppose to represent "a melting pot," where all elements (or people) are welcomed to live together. Ember's family moves to the city and start a business from the ground up. Like a lot of families that want to start over to give their family a better life. Which it is not easy moving to a completely foreign place where you have to learn a new language, find a home, create a community, and get a stable income to support your family.
Stereotypes: This movie touched on stereotypes that immagrants face when dealing with the public. American is suppose to be a place with equality & fairness for all regardless of skin color, religion, or sexual identity, but as we see often immigrants and people of color are often victims of discrimination and micro aggression. This movie touches on these micro aggressions. *Spoilers*
-The "border," agent doesn't speak the language of Ember's Mother & Father when they first arrive to Elemental City & therefore just decides to re-name them to something he thinks is "easier."
-How landloards turned away their family for properties only off of taking a glance at them not even taking the time to have a conversation. They were already judging them based off how they look and preconceived notions about immagrants.
-Ember encounters a character that comments on, "How they were surprised that Ember could speak so well and clearly." To which Ember replies akin to "Yea that's what happens when you speak the same language all your life." Hinting at people that take a look at someone & automatically assume that English is not their first language or that they are not fluent in the language based off how they look.
These were just some examples but not all of the ways this movie hinted at the uncomfortableness of micro aggressions that immagrants and people of color deal with.
Emotions:
What I really liked that they showcased in this movie was Wade's character and how in tune with his emotions he was. Wade is not afraid to show his emotions, speaks what he feels, and cries often. Which typically for a man this is shown as weakness, but for Wade it is just apart of who he is and he is accepting of that. What I also like about Wade's character and this movie is how they address Ember's anger. This movie doesn't shun Ember for losing her temper or discipline her as if her anger is a bad thing, but instead we see Wade tell her that she should listen to this strong emotion & dig into what her anger is really trying to tell her about herself. Often times we automatically label anger as a bad thing instead of trying to figure out what is truly behind that emotion.
Disappointing Parental Figures: This one really hit my emotions as we all have felt guilt for intentionally or non intentionally disappointing our parents. I have seen multiple Disney films where they touch on "being yourself and following your own dreams even if it doesn't follow what your parents want." However, this movie added a different look to this concept.
*Spoiler*
During the movie, Ember says something that really struck me. This is not an exact quote but it is along the lines of, "My father sacrificed so much for me, how can I possibly repay that without a sacrifice of my own?"
That line made me audibly gasp because, if you grew up in a family where you see your parents work from the ground up, work long hours, or work themselves to the bone to give you a better life, you ask yourself, how could I ever repay you for what you've done for me? After all, there's no gift or material item that can match up to the value of sacrificing for your family. I appreciate how the movie tackled this concept and to see it from the perspective of a child that grew up in a home with encouraging and loving parents.
Negative: -The only con that I had while watching the movie was the character of Clod. The character was obviously there to be a comic relief but I feel that he added nothing to towards the progression of the movie. The movie could have cut those few minutes of his character on screen and it would have made no difference in the plot.
-I also don't think the previews of this movie did it any justice as didn't really dive into what this movie was considerably about. That is what I think contributed to the overall lack of enthusiasm to go see this movie.
Overall: I went to the theater to watch this movie using it as an excuse to get out of the house, but I was pleasantly surprised at the emotions this movie brought out of me. This movie touched on so many different concepts that are overlooked in our society such as immigration, stereotypes, emotions, and about finding yourself while releasing guilt.
As someone who was originally going to wait to see it on Disney Plus, I would highly encourage you to head to the theaters to see this movie and support it!
Time for me to run to ShopDisney to buy some merch!
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