Disney fans are getting déjà vu after watching the trailer for new Pixar film Elemental.
It’s being claimed that the movie’s plot is practially identical to another film released under the Disney banner in 2016.
Elemental, which has another high-concept idea in the same vein as Inside/Out and Soul, is set in the metropolitan Element City, a place where residents are categorised in four groups: fire, water, land and air.
In the trailer, these different groups are shown to be getting on with their respective daily routines and, by the end, two members of the fire group and water group (voiced by Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie) are thrust together in an unlikely partnership.
While fans were left entertained by the prospect of the new film, many drew comparisons with Disney’s Zootopia, which was released in the UK as Zootropolis.
Released in 2016, the Disney animation takes place in a city where anthropomorphic mammals coexist, and follows the unlikely partnership between a rabbit police officer and a red fox con artist.
It’s because of this that Elemental has been branded “Zootopia, but with elements”.
“I love Pixar but isn’t this just Zootopia,” one person wrote, with another adding: “World building looks too similar to Zootopia.”
Another film fan waded in: “Ngl Elemental looks like an element version of Zootopia so far.”
“Looks like Disney allowed Pixar to make their version of Zootopia but with elements!” an additional person tweeted.
Find more reactions below.
Directed by Peter Sohn, Elemental will be released in cinemas in July 2023.
