Elemental | 2023 | PG | – 1.2.1

Why is “Elemental” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some peril, thematic elements and brief language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of kissing scenes, discussions of love, several scenes of water nearly flooding a town and threatening to douse the characters living there, a storm destroying a home and leaving it in rubble, implied threats of characters vaporizing or being burned or being doused by each other if they come in contact, and many arguments and depictions of a character becoming enraged and blowing flames around her. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Animated feature about characters representing the elements of fire, water, earth and wind and their efforts to manage co-existence in a city, despite obvious obstacles. With the voices of Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie Del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Catherine O’Hara, Mason Wertheimer, Ronobir Lahiri, Wilma Bonet, Joe Pera, Matthew Yang King, Clara Lin Ding and Reagan To. Directed by Peter Sohn. [Running Time: 1:49]

Elemental SEX/NUDITY 1

 – Two characters kiss and swoon and two characters kiss. Two apple trees stand in the window of an apartment where they giggle and pick apples from each other as two other characters float by in a balloon; one of the tree characters says, “There’s nothing weird going on here,” and, “Just some pruning”; they both laugh.
► A water character and a fire character go on a date and other characters dance around them; they dance together but do not touch each other. A water character and a fire character go on a date and the fire character is uncomfortable in a dark theater because she glows brightly and characters around her seem upset. A water character and a fire character touch fingers and then hold hands and hug.
► A fire character says that he is retired and that now there is “more time for hanky-panky.” A water character tells a fire character, “You’re so hot,” and “you’re smoking,” and she becomes upset. Two characters are called a “cute couple.” A woman says of her son that he is smitten and her son is embarrassed. A water character asks a fire character if they can hug in greeting (they don’t touch).
► A fire character performs a ritual where she determines if two characters are a love match and she says that she can read the smoke from flames lit by couples and that she can smell love. A tree character flirts with a fire character and says he’s all grown up when he asks her on a date; he lifts his arm and sprouts a flower from under his armpit, which he picks and gives to her.
► A fire character is shown to be pregnant and we later hear a newborn crying.

Elemental VIOLENCE/GORE 2

 – Water breaks through a dam and through channels toward a town where bridges break and streets flood; fire characters try to get to higher ground to avoid being doused and one character goes into a building to save a symbolic flame; she gets trapped and a water character comes to help her (we fear that the water character is evaporated from the heat in the small space). Water floods through an opening in a dam wall and floods toward a fire town in a few scenes; a fire character and a water character try to figure out how to plug up the hole using sand bags and once by melting the sand and creating glass.
► A fire character becomes overwhelmed by customers asking for things in a shop, she rushes to the basement and yells, blowing flames around the room and melting a part of a water pipe that sprays water and floods the basement, as she hops around trying to avoid being doused; a water character pops out of the water and indicates that the pipes are not up to building code and that he will have to close the shop.
► An air character creates a large bubble of air that a fire character climbs into and floats underwater through a long tunnel; a water character guides the bubble and pushes it to the surface as the fire character runs out of air. A fire character chases a water character through a city and they squeeze between cracks in walls, the fire character grows in size to a large wall of flames to block the water character from entering a building but he drips through a grate in the ground and appears behind the wall unscathed. A museum guard tells a fire character that he and his daughter are not permitted in a display because they are too dangerous and the fire character becomes angry and yells. A water character remembers being traumatized at a young age and we see him being sucked into a sponge. A fire character yells at a tree character and flames burn up all the foliage in the room. Characters argue in several scenes. A water character appears condescending toward a fire character saying that she “speaks so well and clearly.”
► A water character bumps into a fire character and part of the fire character’s head is doused (she eats a piece of wood and her head reappears). A fire character on a train bumps into a tree character and its leaves are instantly burned up; the fire character climbs outside the train until it speeds toward a waterfall and the fire character presses her face against a window, melting it and passing through it to get back inside the train. A fire character stands on a wooden floor and breaks through to a lower level (he is unharmed). Two flame characters arrive in a city and speak in a language that resembles the sounds of fire (crackling, roaring and snapping). A water character sees flames on a sidewalk and stomps on them not realizing that they are a fire character sleeping under a cover. A water character stands in front of a fire character and uses the refracted light glowing through his water body to light a piece of wood.
► We hear about a “great storm” that destroyed a family’s home and they were forced to move away (we see them leaving and the rubble of their home). A fire character yells at customers in her father’s shop in several scenes blowing large flames around the area and scaring customers; her father tells her that she has to control her temper. A fire character grumbles about water characters in several scenes. A fire character stumbles and falls from a ladder and nearly falls into water. A fire character coughs (we see smoke come out of his mouth) and seems unwell in a few scenes. A fire character says, “I am old.” A woman says that she is not an artist, and that she’s “just an architect.” Water characters play a game where they try to make each other cry and when they do cry, large amounts of water spout from their eyes. A fire character yells at her daughter, “Silence.” A fire character tells a water character, “Don’t judge me,” they argue and break up.
► A water character eats coal nuts (burning embers) and spits out large bubbles of steam. A newborn fire character is given lighter fluid to drink (like formula) and it burps loudly, blowing a large flame from its mouth. Two fire characters press log pieces into “coal nuts” that they sell in their shop. An air character shouts for a sport team member (the team is called “Wind Breakers”) to “break some wind.” A bubble rises to the top of a water character and he says, “Thought bubble.” A fire character says, “I’m afraid I will throw up” (we do not see her vomit).

Elemental LANGUAGE 1

 – 4 mild scatological terms (a sport team is named “Wind Breakers” and their cheer is toot-toot), 1 anatomical term, name-calling (sparky, ridiculous, lazy, burden, liar, very unpleasant, crazy, jerk, Mr. Smoke Stack, cloud puffs, fireball, loveless, ironic, awful), exclamations (goody, oh blaze, what the…, oh flame, whatever, shoot, oh dew drop, oh gosh, oh no, dang, oh boy, come on), 2 religious exclamations (e.g. act of God). | profanity glossary |

Elemental SUBSTANCE USE

 – None.

Elemental DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Family, leaving home, sacrifice, anger management, following your dream, disappointment, respect, secrets, trust.

Elemental MESSAGE

 – Celebrate your life while it lasts. Differences can be overcome.

(Note: A short feature entitled “Carl’s Date” precedes the feature, and it’s about an elderly man mourning his wife while living with his dog that can speak. He tries to negotiate the idea of going on a date with a woman, he talks about “pitching woo,” and talks to a photo of his deceased wife. There is some name-calling like disgusting and crazy, several exclamations like oh no and very bad, a dog suggests that a man “smell her backward side” when a man asks what he should do on a date, a dog says of a man that he needs to “go to the vet,” a dog puts a plunger on its nose to avoid the smell of cologne, and says, “I like to roll in poop,” a dog tells a man that it doesn’t want him to be sad, a dog snarls at a man when he dyes his hair and the dog doesn’t recognize him, and a dog and a man fight over a telephone until it is pulled out of the wall.)