Disney Pixar's Elemental

[EricJ]

Unlike certain menstruating pandas, Pete Sohn has mastered the distinctive Pixar art of taking personal ethnic-background photo-album childhoods and actually doing STORIES with them--

For those who remember Sohn describing how he couldn't get the look of "Up"'s Russell just right (nerdy? wiseguy?), until he went with his own chubby Korean childhood pictures.

[Daniel]

Arrives on Digital August 15. Home video release September 26. Special features and a look at some of the covers:

Carl’s Date – Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® Award winner Bob Peterson and produced by Kim Collins, this all-new short, “Carl’s Date,” finds Carl reluctantly agreeing to go on a date with a lady friend —but admittedly with no idea how dating works these days. Ever the helpful friend, Dug steps in to calm Carl’s pre-date jitters and offer some tried-and-true tips for making friends — if you’re a dog. “Carl’s Date” opened in theaters in front of Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental.”

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 teams brought these characters to life.
Next Stop: Element City – Explore how Element City is built to accommodate its different inhabitants. Director Peter Sohn and crew members share insights about the evolution of the designed world, as well as some of the research that inspired its unique look.
Paths to Pixar: The Immigrant Experience – Hear from first-generation filmmakers on the Elemental crew as they share their journeys to Pixar. Discover how Elemental’s real-world themes of sacrifice and identity, amongst many others, reflect or diverge from their own lived experiences.

Director Peter Sohn introduces five scenes that are all illustrated, set to music, timed, and voiced, but are not included in the final version of Elemental.

Intro Ember – An alternate opening in which our hero Ember helps a newly immigrated Fire family navigate through, and acclimate to, Element City. Scene introduced by director Peter Sohn.
Mom Rejects Wade – Ember’s traditional parents learn that she’s enamored with watery Wade…and it doesn’t go well. Scene introduced by story supervisor Jason Katz.
Dante Challenge – In an attempt to keep Ember apart from Wade, Bernie tasks her with finding a place to live for newcomer Dante, who Wade finds himself rather enamored with. Scene introduced by story artist Nira Liu.
Brook Dinner – Ember joins Wade for dinner at his home, in this abandoned storyline in which Wade’s mother, Brook, is revealed to be the villain diverting water into Firetown. Scene introduced by story artist Anna Benedict.
Beach Proposal – Sharing a tender moment on the beach, Ember and Wade propose marriage to each other. Scene introduced by story artists Yung-Han Chang and Le Tang.
Audio Commentary

Elementary Filmmaker Commentary – Join director Peter Sohn, supe tech Sanjay Bakshi, supervising animator Mike Venturini, and directing animator Gwendelyn Enderoglu as they provide insight into the making of this remarkable animated feature while you watch it.

[Ben]

Phew…thank goodness the regular 4K looks good. Not sure about the blue Blu-ray banner along the top though! Should have been white or silver? I guess they’re trying to do the hot/cold thing with the top and bottom but it doesn’t quite work, Anyway, most striking of the covers, me thinks.

[Ben]

Uh-oh, as per Billy Bits…

Disney and Pixar have officially set the animated Elemental for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 9/26, with the Digital release expected on 8/15. Of note is that fact that the 4K Ultra HD release will be retailer-exclusive. The Disney Movie Club will have a version, Walmart will have a version, and Best Buy will have a Steelbook version. You can see the Blu-ray and DMC 4K SKUs below. Extras on each will include the Carl’s Date short film, 3 featurettes (Ember and Wade, Next Stop: Element City, and Paths to Pixar: The Immigrant Experience), audio commentary with the filmmakers, and 5 deleted scenes with introduction by director Peter Sohn.

Looks like the same as for Strange World.

Which is probably a pain for some of you but also meaning the UK will likely not get any 4K at all, let alone a store exclusive. At least the DMC appears to be the sleek black sleeve from above.

James…sorry, but looks like I’ll be tapping you for a slipcovered DMC pickup again!

[Farerb]

Looks like the same as for Strange World.

And The Little Mermaid.
It's a shame cause it'll be more difficult for me to get Wish when the time comes.

[Ben]

Oh yeah…didn't realise that with Mermaid, as it’s not one I’ll bother with. I guess there are always eBay scammers…

[gaastra]

https://www.reddit.com/r/boxoffice/comm ... in_japans/

"#Elemental keeps growing momentum in #Japan’s #BoxOffice, as locals took WED discount day to check what all the fuss is about, making #Pixar film #1 for the first time grossing 850k on WED,over local anime film #CrayonShinChanTheMovie’s 780k. #Elemental hits 4.5M cume in 6 days."

Japan is starting to like the film in the third biggest movie market in the world.

[Daniel]

The little engine that could.

[EricJ]

Ask anyone why they didn't go see Elemental, and you get the same "The trailers looked too lame and generic!"

Uh-huhhh.....
So, not like:
- "An old guy? Who is this movie for, anyway?"
- "Oo, talking cars! My 5-yo. Hot Wheels fan would love that! "
- "Oh, I get it!--He's a superhero, and he's fat, yuk yuk!"
- "A rat gets chased around a restaurant? What is this, a Tom & Jerry cartoon?"
- "Oh, look: Fish gets chased by big fish, and then fish get chased by shark!"
- "Wasn't there already a Fox sitcom about emotion-people in a guy's head?"
- "Wait, this isn't that OTHER Dia de Los Muertos cartoon from a couple years ago, is it?"
- "What is that? Can't see, is that, like a caterpillar on the leaf, or something?"

Was there ever a Pixar trailer we DID think was clever? Hmm...Oh, right, that one about the asteroid missing the dinosaurs looked kind of cute.

[Ben]

I think they’re mostly just your reactions, Eric.

And now everyone is going to remember Herman's Head, aren’t they?

[gaastra]

Following Elemental's unlikely box office run, Disney revealed a press release celebrating the movie, shutting down reports that the film was a flop.

Disney wrote that despite the film being "more spark than fire" upon release, it "didn’t evaporate at the box office."

The movie just crossed $400 million at the global box office, and $136 million domestically, which is (as the studio wrote) "about five times its domestic opening weekend haul, which is a rare accomplishment in a theatrical world."

It is so rare in fact, that no Pixar movie has seen a multiple like this since the studio's 1995 debut Toy Story.

This $400 million mark is the first time an original animated film broke that threshold since 2017, as the movie has become the biggest Pixar film of all-time in some territories (including Korea).

Disney’s EVP of Theatrical Distribution Tony Chambers said, “After a disappointing opening weekend, we’re really pleased that audiences have discovered what a great movie [Elemental] is.”

The studio cited the film's 93% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes and strong word of mouth for Elemental's financial success.

This all comes after Elemental was dubbed by some as a financial 'flop' upon release.

Variety wrote that the film had "collapsed" in its opening weekend, with other outlets like Fox News and The Wrap calling the movie a miss and wondering if the once-beloved animation studio would ever be able to return to its former box office glory.

However, most of these 'flop' reports came immediately following Elemental's opening, without the ability to account for the long legs the animated romance would go on to have.

Much has been made about Pixar's box office woes as of late. Essentially, since theaters reopened following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, audiences have just not been heading to the theater in the same way they were before.

And - arguably - no studio has been hit harder than Pixar. As Disney withheld some of its theatrical releases, the studio opted to simply release its Pixar movies straight to streaming during the pandemic.

This may have devalued Pixar's product in the eye of some consumers. Instead of buying a ticket to see the latest Pixar film in theaters, the general moviegoer had seemingly turned its back on Pixar/Disney animated as a theatrical product, simply waiting for streaming.

Because of this, films like Lightyear and Strange World flopped at the ticket window, and - as was evident above - many thought the same was in store for Elemental. However, the movie grew legs and came away with not a bad box office haul.

While something worth celebrating on Disney's part, it should not get too cocky in thinking Pixar and animation at the studio is back. $400 million is a great start, but it will be sustained success across multiple films that will be a sign that Disney has weathered its animated box office storm.

Elemental is in theaters worldwide now and will hit digital PVOD services on Tuesday, August 15.

https://thedirect.com/article/elemental ... ffice-flop

[Ben]

Maybe they’ll rethink the limited DMC 4K offering then…?

[EricJ]

I think they’re mostly just your reactions, Eric.

Oh, sweet, naive, Ben….

You don’t REALLY want me to dig up a dozen or so pre-release YouTube comedy variations on the theme of “Oh, look, grown-up Andy’s going to take his toy cowboy doll with him to college, bet that’ll make him popular with the girls!”, do you?

[Ben]

No, but I’d pay to see that movie!

[Daniel]

Streaming on Wednesday, September 13. Given the Box Office recovery, I expected a much more hyped up release window. Oh well, will be nice to see again. I loved it.