7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy will discover something elemental: How much they have in common.
Starring: Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie Del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-CoveyFamily | 100% |
Animation | 95% |
Fantasy | 60% |
Adventure | 58% |
Comedy | 37% |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: Disney sent this Wal-Mart exclusive with a lenticular cover for purposes of this review (and the 1080 review), but collectors should
be
aware there are both a Best Buy SteelBook and a
Disney Movie Club edition available.
Mismatched partners are often described as going together like oil and water, but Elemental tweaks that slightly to ostensibly attempt to
"combine"
fire and water. 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 in fact insensible) world, namely fire, water, air and earth. This
quartet
was originally promulgated by Empedocles, an ancient Greek philosopher, and it's rather interesting to note that Empedocles himself linked the
elements to Greek Gods, Zeus, Hera,
Nestis, and Aidoneus, in much the same way that later writers and thinkers would link the elements to the so-called "fourfold name of God", YHVH
(often incorrectly translated as Jehovah), with Yod being fire, He primal being water, Vav being air, and He final being earth. The wizards at Pixar,
having
already brought all sorts of supposedly "inanimate" objects to life, might now be jokingly described as having moved on to concepts,
which
I guess maybe has already been explored in such related fare as
Inside Out, and with regard to that Pixar - Disney collaboration which had a 3D release theatrically and on Blu-ray, as of the
writing of this review it doesn't look like Elemental is going to get a 3D Blu-ray release.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc included in this package.
Elemental is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista and Pixar with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. 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 in wonderment of the imagery, but due to the fact that that very wonderment may help distract more fully from some of
the film's perceived deficits. Detail is superb throughout, and admittedly picayune items like the lines that form the edges of the flames and can
support things like facial expressions in the fire creatures are better defined here, if arguably minimally. More noticeable improvement perhaps
surprisingly accrues with regard to the earth creatures, the element that I thought fared best overall in terms of consistent detail in the 1080 version.
But here the "stubbly" bits of earth and tufts of grass really have some amazingly precise looking textures that aren't quite as evident in the 1080
version. Some of the astounding images of Element
City also attain new levels of detail that help keeps things amazingly sharp well into the depth of the frame. Perhaps surprisingly, there's no Dolby
Vision on this release, but HDR introduces a really enticing array of interstitial tones that aren't quite as noticeable in the 1080 version. The palette is
one of the film's outstanding assets, and both the warm and cool sides of the spectrum are aided by HDR, making this even more sumptuous than the
already excellent 1080 version.
Elemental features an expressive Dolby Atmos track that frankly may not offer a whale of a lot of difference when stacked up against the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on the 1080 disc, but which is itself beautifully immersive, with clear emanations from the Atmos speakers starting with the Disney masthead music. And in fact Thomas Newman's score is a highlight here, offering superb engagement of all the surround channels and featuring some really gorgeous World Music approaches. I don't know if Newman had been listening to one of my favorite artists, AO Music, but his score reminded me quite a bit of Richard Gannaway's superb cross cultural productions, which often combine things like Miriam Stockley, ethnic choirs and pulsing multi-instrumental backgrounds (for those unaware of AO Music or who haven't yet heard Newman's work for this film, both can be reminiscent of certain compositions used in various Cirque du Soleil productions). The use of the elements of course provides recurrent and often quite fun effects, I'd say especially in the watery variety. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.
The 4K disc sports no on disc bonus material. The 1080 disc in this package offers the following supplements:
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 the term quintessential, and in that regard, as well intentioned and often brilliant as Elemental is, it may be lacking just a bit of that all important item. Lovers of inventive animation and nicely immersive sound design should still find this a delight for the senses, if not always for the intellect and/or heart. Technical merits are first rate, especially in this 4K UHD version, and the supplements appealing. Recommended.
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