It’s rare that beloved animation studio Pixar makes a straightforward romantic movie — the films they produce frequently focus on family and friendship, but it’s not often we see a swooning love story between two individuals as in Peter Sohn’s “Elemental,” a kind of “Romeo and Juliet” riff featuring the forbidden love between two elements that never easily mix: fire and water.

“Elemental” is also an immigrant story, about a family forced to leave one homeland for a strange new place. A pre-title sequence follows Bernie (voiced by Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Ommi) as they arrive in Elemental City from their home in Fireland. Though the water, earth, air and fire elements share a complicated coexistence in this bustling metropolis, Bernie and Cinder don’t find warm hospitality there. As they seek shelter for their burgeoning family with Cinder pregnant and are turned away, it harks back to the story of the birth of Jesus.

The couple transform their “manger,” a crumbling old building, into The Fireplace, a shop and cafe that serves as the hub of Firish culture in the heart of Firetown. They hope their daughter, Ember (Leah Lewis), will be able to take over the shop when she’s ready.

Sohn and screenwriters John Hoberg, Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh are working well-known, much-beloved stories and tropes, transposing these tales into this fantastical world of humanoid elements. These character types — star-crossed lovers, or a gruff but loving immigrant father — make it easy to slip into their emotional journey.

Accepting that the story beats are overly familiar is a bargain one makes with the filmmakers in order to enjoy the visually dazzling world of “Elemental.” One has to wonder if the concept for the film came about because the Pixar animators wanted to demonstrate their aptitude with animating such challenging substances. The character’s surfaces are constantly moving: Faces of flame flicker and crackle with the grace of a watercolor painting; bubbles float and churn and pop through the bodies of the watery folk, held together with a tenuous viscosity. It’s a truly eye-popping and detailed expression of animation technology and technique.

But it’s the romance that makes “Elemental” worth your time and emotional investment thanks to a romantic male lead who isn’t made up of the same stuff we’ve seen in Disney movies of yore. Wade (Mamoudou Athie) is water, and he’s an emotional guy. After Ember loses her temper and bursts a pipe in the shop, Wade, a chipper city inspector, comes into her life. They pair up to track down the source of the leak that threatens Firetown and The Fireplace, and along the way fall in love, much to Ember’s chagrin, fearing the disapproval of her parents.

But this modern kind of love proves irresistible. What makes Wade lovable is his kindness, his vulnerability, his willingness to share his emotions and his delight in all of Ember’s distinctly fiery qualities. She’s spunky and hot-headed, he’s sweet and adorable — if they touch, it could be a disaster, but their chemistry works, bringing “Elemental” to a lively roiling boil.

MPA rating: PG (for some peril, thematic elements and brief language)

Running time: 1:43

How to watch: In theaters