Tag: animation

I got a movie recommendation from my sister last month. It was an animation titled Elemental. I usually don’t dive into animations. The few I’ve seen have always been on movie nights with SonTer.

…but this one… she assured me it was worth it.

So I saw it.

It was a soft, colorful animated movie. It focused on the use of the  elements earth, wind, fire and water as personalities… with emphasis on water and fire. Somewhere between the glowing streets, emotional family conversations and all… it became something much heavier…how can fire truly love water?

Water can put out fire. Fire can boil water away. Their very existence together feels unstable and even almost dangerous. The story gave me something to think about.

When the movie began, the question was: Can two completely different beings survive each other?
And then slowly, it changed into something deeper: Can people learn how to love each other without destroying who the other person is?

Wade never stops being water. Ember never stops being fire. Neither one changes into something easier or safer. Instead, they learn gentleness. Boundaries. Patience. Space.
…that is what love is… Sometimes.
We don’t become identical and we don’t erase our differences.
We also do not pretend incompatibility does not exist. We learn the other person’s nature carefully enough that neither of you burns out.
Ember feared that she was “too much.” Too intense, too dangerous, too difficult to be loved comfortably. Wade was the first person who saw her fully and did not treat her like something that needed to be controlled.

Underneath the bright animation and funny moments, Elemental asks a question some people secretly ask themselves:
What if who I naturally am hurts the people I love?

The movie answers:
Love may simply be learning how not to destroy each other.

But sometimes, you ask, is it worth the risk?