It’s official: Pixar’s Elemental heads to Disney+ next week.
Elemental debuts on Disney’s online streaming platform on September 13 just 89 days after its theatrical debut, so if you missed it in theaters, you’ll be able to watch it at home soon enough.
The film tells the story of Ember, a fire elemental whose friendship with the slightly wet, go-with-the-flow water elemental, Wade, challenges everything she knows about her way of life.
Unfortunately, Elemental wasn’t exactly the instant hit you’d expect from Pixar. The film debuted to Pixar’s worst opening weekend ever, earning just $29.5 million domestically. On top of that, Pixar boss Pete Docter was reportedly ‘confused’ by the lukewarm critical response to the film after its successful debut at Cannes.
“That was a confusing half-hour there," he said, referring to the movie's premiere at Cannes Film Festival. "The film played, we got a seven-minute standing ovation, and you could feel the love beaming down from the audience to [director Peter Sohn]. They really responded to it. Then the embargo lifted and some of the reviews were pretty nasty.”
Thankfully, things eventually turned around for Elemental, with the film scoring a hard-earned $480 million at the global box office. That puts it among 2023’s top 10 highest-grossing movies.
Alongside Elemental, you’ll also be able to watch the new making-of documentary, Good Chemistry: The Story of Elemental. This documentary highlights the personal journey of director Peter Sohn who takes fans through the process of creating Elemental. The Pixar short Carl’s Date, which debuted in front of Elemental, will also head to Disney+ on September 13.
IGN’s Elemental review gave it 6/10 and said: “Visually, Pixar is in absolutely top form with the creation of Element City and its inhabitants. Unfortunately, the story is way too thin and none of it makes any sense. It’s hard to see young kids being too into this, and older ones – who can usually trust this company to not talk down to the audience – may get annoyed by the rote platitudes that feel like a lecture.”
Want to read more about Elemental? Check out why Disney CEO Bob Iger is committed to turning around the studio’s box office performance as well as how to watch Pixar’s movies in order.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
