Elemental (USA/G/109mins)

Having changed the face of animation with 1995’s Toy Story, San Francisco’s pioneering Pixar went on to deliver some of the finest movies of the last 28 years, including The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc and Inside Out, and continue to push the envelope as they aim for a happy middle ground between Mickey Mouse and Miyazaki.

The latest Pixar offering is typically ambitious - perhaps a little too much so - with a love story between, essentially, a flame and a blob of water. Opposites retract, as the tagline says, with the fiery Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis) finds herself making an unlikely alliance with water inspector Wade as they work against the clock to fix a major city leak that is threatening to extinguish far more than just the former’s family store, The Fireplace.

It’s a bonkers set-up, Elemental relying largely on its set-pieces - which are often hilarious - and its kaleidoscopic animation. Seven years in the making, director Peter Sohn was inspired by his parents’ move to New York from Korea in the early 1970s.

As with all Pixar films, Elemental really needs to be seen on the big screen…

Sunday 26th November 2023 @ 3pm (doors 2pm). Tickets (€12) can be booked at www.whaletheatre.ie or call the booking office on 01 2010550.