Elemental

This is a knockout presentation by any standard, and in fact the 4K UHD iteration is often so beautiful that it may be a more worthwhile viewing experience than the 1080 version not just for the built...

The use of the elements of course provides recurrent and often quite fun effects, I'd say especially in the watery variety....

Element City (HD; 10:13) gets into some of the thought process of crafting the metropolis for the elements, and it's kind of sweet that Sohn states he wanted it to feel "hopeful", something that is not...

I'm a bit of a religion / philosophy buff, and as such, I've long been interested in the history of what are often called the four "classical elements" that supposedly comprise all of the sensible (and...

Some who share my interest in ancient philosophies will know that some occult strands actually posited a fifth element, namely ether (often thought of as spirit), an element which actually gave birth to...

Richness in the city, the brilliant yellows and oranges in fire, the dense blues of water – it’s all wonderful....

The positives out of the way, the let down comes from the positional design, sparingly using the heights even with opportunity....

This includes Pixar’s short film Carl’s Date, a peek inside the animation tech/style, another on aesthetic design, deleted scenes, and a commentary....

Elemental comes together with good intentions, taking a cute path to explore complex social issues like immigration, race relations, and stereotypes....

Pixar at their most routine, Elemental is fine animation, but tells a story through a cycle of predictable plot points....

I was particularly impressed with the shading within the Water and Fire element people with the fluctuating shades of blues or orange/yellow....

On the scale of things it can be a bit on the subtle side, but for all of the world-building efforts, surround channels are virtually always active....

The commentary is a great listen and Carls Date is another wonderful short featuring the late Ed Asner who apparently finished recording it just before he passed away....

But through true grit and determination, they make a home of their own opening a shop catering to other flames like themselves....

After what I thought was a fairly soulless effort with Lightyear, it was nice to see Pixar return to form with Elemental....

This was the case across the board as the scenes that take place in Fire Town, or those that feature Ember’s fiery bursts, sparkle against the deep, shadowy backgrounds....

In listening to the Dolby Atmos mix I found it to be of the moderately active variety, which considering the source material, was slightly disappointing....

Featurettes • Ember and Wade – Take a deeper look at the development of main characters Ember and Wade, from early designs to final effects, and learn how the complex work of the technical and character...

The story 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....

It comes to Blu-ray in this Ultra HD Ultimate Collector’s Edition from Disney Home Media Distribution featuring top notch Ultra HD/high-definition video quality, crisp lossless surround sound, including...

Its one of the more impressive looking animated films on the 4K format.Depth: Depth of field is pretty strong, considering its 3D animation easily lends itself....

Rolling sound is powerful and moves with good force in whatever direction the scene calls for....

This particular edition comes in limited steelbook packaging, only available from Best Buy....

Elemental is easily the tale of immigration, coming to a new place, facing discriminations, recognizing our differences and finding your own route in life....

The Best Buy Steelbook packaging this review had was also rather pleasing with good art and sturdiness....