As you know if you saw the Sensational Snippet that I posted about Amanda Curtin’s new novel Elemental, I loved this book. Curtin is an author of exceptional talent and in this novel she tugs at the heartstrings without being maudlin, sentimental or twee. This is one of those novels that is at once both tender and brutal so that the reader becomes emotionally bound to the world that has been so skilfully created, not wanting to stop reading and yet not wanting the book ever to end. Having this story told to you from Meggie’s perspective is a precious gift, like getting to know someone who has walked the earth for many years before you were born, who has seen places and lived during a period in history that is slowly disappearing from the collective memory. Amanda Curtin has mined the archives and has emerged with some rich treasures that most of us probably haven’t seen or only heard of, such as the herring girls at the top of the world, with their hands constantly covered in blood, salt and fish guts; the Mills and Ware biscuit factory; the Castlemaine Brewery; the Ugly Men’s Association and the Uglieland fairground. a b c d " Elemental Vocal Cast – Expanded Details". Pixar Post. March 28, 2023. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023 . Retrieved May 9, 2023. Meggie is a woman ahead of her time, even as a child, chafing against the reduced place of women in her community, vowing never to marry, and certainly never to endure the indignity of wading through the freezing ocean, carrying a man on her shoulders so that he might stay warm and dry for a night's fishing.

Chasing Dreams". Musou Music Group. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023 . Retrieved April 25, 2023. The film was supposed to come out in the UK and Ireland on the same day, but it got delayed to July 7, 2023, for unknown reasons unless being re-released in the future (probably for its anniversary on June 16, 2024). Ronnie del Carmen as Bernie Lumen, Ember's father, Cinder's husband, and owner of their family's convenience store in Fire Town who plans to retire to allow his daughter to run the convenience store. [8] [9] He is distrustful of water elements. [10]In a world where beings of fire, water, air, and earth exist, Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) is a first generation fire elemental and daughter of immigrants Bernie and Cinder (Ronnie del Carmen and Shila Ommi respectively) who emigrated to Element City facing prejudice and systemic segregation to start a bodega, called The Fireplace, that is the unofficial hub of Firetown which Bernie hopes Ember will someday inherit. Ember routinely struggles to keep her temper with customers and during one such episode inadvertently damages an old water pipe which pulls in city inspector Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) from the other side of town and must reluctantly issue several citations on the bodega. After learning of Ember's struggles with trying to takeover The Fireplace from her ailing father, Wade feeling guilty over it tries to help Ember save The Fireplace as well as find out why there is water still running through Firetown when it shouldn't and eventually a romance blooms in spite of the historic incompatibility with fire and water.

Crowley, Liam (February 16, 2023). "Disney Reportedly Considering Longer Theatrical Windows for Upcoming Animation Releases". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023 . Retrieved February 17, 2023. When things change, something new enters the space you live in, something you must move with, turn to, chafe against, until you ease a new shape for yourself. But something is lost, too, in the changing, some small piece if your world gone for good.'

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Bumbray, Chris (June 15, 2023). "Elemental Review". JoBlo.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023 . Retrieved September 21, 2023. Lowry, Brian (July 31, 2023). " 'Elemental' was written off as a box-office flop. Then it sprouted legs". CNN. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023 . Retrieved August 8, 2023. Prange, Stephanie (August 3, 2023). "Pixar's 'Elemental' Headed to Digital Aug. 15, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD Sept. 26". Media Play News. Archived from the original on August 4, 2023 . Retrieved August 4, 2023. a b " Elemental (2023)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC . Retrieved November 13, 2023.

Elemental' premiere in Los Angeles, Calif". New York Daily News. June 9, 2023. Archived from the original on August 28, 2023 . Retrieved August 28, 2023. Turning Red (2022) creative consultant Brenda Hsueh was hired to write the screenplay. [29] Ultimately, John Hoberg and Kat Likkel and Hsueh received "screenplay by" credit, while Sohn, Hoberg and Likkel, and Hsueh received "story by" credit. [7] Presented as the closing-night selection of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, ahead of its stateside release in mid-June, “Elemental” envisions a densely populated urban sprawl similar to that of Disney’s anthrozoomorphic “ Zootopia,” in which ideas of racial discrimination were uneasily reduced to “predator and prey” dynamics to allow for a story that focused more on dismantling personal prejudices than systemic racism. In Element City, a similarly ill-advised simplification is at work (though Sohn has explained that his Korean heritage and desire to make a film about assimilation fueled some of the creative decisions), and there’s even a similar eyebrow to raise with regard to the legitimate danger that these contrasting elements, like foxes to rabbits, pose to one another.

The First World War happens while Meggie is married in Australia and her husband eventually goes to war. I felt that this book gave a better representation of "life for those left at home" than or previous book which majored on WW1. it also dealt better with the return of her "damaged" husband. This is the first time that Pixar had the clips from their previous films in a trailer for a new film since Inside Out. Elemental' Review: A Rich and Vibrant Showcase of Studio Animation". TheWrap. May 27, 2023. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023 . Retrieved May 28, 2023. Another aspect of the story that I tremendously enjoyed was the breathtaking premise - from the ruins of the world destroyed by the Plague to the remote island surrounded by vast ocean waters - the setting helped create a magical, eerie (often scary) atmosphere. The post-apocalyptic world was both beautiful and treacherous. Antony John's descriptions were vivid, crisp and very helpful in visualizing everything in my head. Berardinelli, James. " Elemental review". ReelViews. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023 . Retrieved October 16, 2023.

Johnson, Zach (November 17, 2022). "Peter Sohn Breaks Down Ember and Wade's Meet-Cute in Elemental". D23. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022 . Retrieved November 18, 2022. This is the sixth Pixar film to have a female protagonist after Brave, Inside Out, Finding Dory, Incredibles 2, and Turning Red, as well as the first original movie to have a female protagonist with a love interest. Busch, Jenna; Vespe, Eric (September 9, 2022). "Pixar's Elemental Footage Description: Can Fire And Water Mix? [D23]". /Film. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022 . Retrieved October 27, 2022. Ember chases Wade deep into the city, her first time leaving Firetown, and follows him to City Hall. Despite her best efforts, Wade sends his notes, only to hear Ember's story about her father and why he built the store to begin with. Wade is touched, but admits that it is too late, so he takes her to bureaucrat Fern Grouchwood in an effort to stop the notes from leaving, but when Wade asks Ember to tell Fern her story, she is too reluctant to explain it and causes her temper to burn most of everything in Fern's office, including his hair and mustache, after Wade almost finishes telling the story himself, failing to retrieve the notes. Ember goes home defeated and finds Bernie and Cinder in the basement trying to stop the leaks. Bernie is convinced that Wade is the reason why the place flooded and Ember once again feels guilty for what happened.

This year there were two notable books that could be described as atmospheric. The first, for me, was Hannah Kent's highly anticipated Burial Rites. The second was Elemental. Written by Perth local, Amanda Curtin, this book takes its structure from the four earthly elements of Water, Air, Earth and Fire and travels almost the entire length of the globe, from Roanhaven Scotland, to Fremantle Western Australia. Like Annabel Smith's Whisky Charlie Foxtrot, Curtin's book is self reflexive and takes notions of story from it's inherent shape. Elemental, the 27th Film by Pixar Animation Studios, to be the “Last Screening” at the 76th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes ( April 19, 2023). Pedersen, Erik (April 27, 2023). "Tribeca Festival Sets Opening, Closing & Centerpiece Films". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023 . Retrieved May 5, 2023. At its best, Pixar is unbeatable, making clever, charming, and brightly original films to touch the heart and spark the imagination. And so it’s been dispiriting to see the animation studio behind such emotive triumphs as “ Toy Story,” “ Ratatouille,” “ Up,” and “ Inside Out”—among the best films of their respective years, bar none—recently fall short of its past standard of excellence. Other additional voices in the film include Dylan Buccieri, Assaf Cohen, Jessica DiCicco, Terri Douglas, Karen Huie, Arif S. Kinchen, Austin Madison, Cole Massie, Scott Menville, Alisha Mullally, Fred Tatasciore, Kari Wahlgren, and Secunda Wood. [7] Production Development Director Peter Sohn stated that the film was inspired by his experiences in New York City.