elemental

Elemental is a 2023 American computer-animated film directed by Peter Sohn and written by John Hoberg, Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh from a story by Sohn, Hoberg, Likkel and Hsueh. It is the 27th animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, being distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It stars the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie. Elemental debuted out of competition as the closing film at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023[1], and was released theatrically in the United States on June 16, in RealD 3D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema formats.[2]

Premise

“ Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” is an all-new, original feature film set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air residents live together. The story introduces Ember Lumen, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade Ripple challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. ”
— Disney[4]

Plot

The film opens with two fire people arriving on a boat to Element City. When they pass through customs, their names are hard for an agent to pronounce, so he calls them Bùrdì "Bernie" Lumen and Síddèr "Cinder" Lumen. Being the only fire people among water, earth, and air people, they are scornfully looked down upon. The two settle down in their new home at an abandoned district, and Cinder gives birth to their daughter, Ember Lumen.

As time goes on, more fire people move into the same district Bernie and Cinder moved to, which later became known as Firetown that's kept outside of Element City. Bernie and Cinder open up a shop, The Fireplace. They keep a blue flame in their store, as it is a cultural aspect of the fire people that they believe brings them blessings. Ember aspires to inherit the shop from her father, but she has a problem with her temper as she is known to literally blow up and cause damage when she gets too upset. She also has a young earth neighbor named Clod, who has a crush on her and tries to impress her with flowers, but she cannot touch them without burning them.

Bernie takes the day off for the store’s Red Dot Sale and entrusts Ember to run the shop. Ember quickly becomes overwhelmed by the large amount of customers and their bad habits, so she runs down to the basement where she can let out one of her fiery explosions. The pipes then start to break and fill the place with water. Ember tries to weld the pipe back together, but a water guy, Wade Ripple, spills out of the pipes. Wade is prone to big emotions like Ember but is more sensitive. He also happens to be a city inspector and finds numerous citations on the store that can get it shut down. Despite Ember's pleas, Wade abides by his job and heads off to send in the citations. Ember chases after him through the city but is unable to stop Wade when they reach City Hall. After hearing how much the store means to her father, Wade offers to help plead her case to the higher-ups. He brings Ember to Fern Grouchwood, an earth guy in charge of sending the citations to get certified. While Ember tries to talk, Wade talks over her and gets too personal about how the shop needs to be saved for Bernie. Ember loses it again and makes another explosion, which doesn't help at all, and Fern tells her to expect the store's closure in a matter of days.

The next day, Wade offers another solution by having Ember meet Gale Cumulus, an air lady who is Wade’s boss. He brings Ember to Cyclone Stadium where a game of airball is taking place, and Gale is a passionate fan. Ember and Gale get off to a rocky start since Gale's favorite team, the Windbreakers, is losing. Everyone sees that star player Lutz isn’t doing well due to his mother being ill, so Wade manages to start a chant among the audience to give Lutz a confidence boost and creates a big wave with the other people. Lutz then plays even better, and the Windbreakers win. After the game, Ember and Gale are on friendlier terms as Ember explains the situation with her family's store. At the mention of a leak, Gale finds it suspicious since water hasn't come to Firetown in years. She tells Ember and Wade that if they can find the source of the leak, the shop will not be closed. Wade mentions to Ember he was inspecting a run-in of water outside the city limits before a rush of water swept him to a pipe leading to the basement of The Fireplace he got sucked into by an explosion, which Ember realizes her temper was the cause of it and the leaks.

Ember and Wade use a hot air balloon she made that helps them fly over the city. While admiring the view, Wade reveals his broken relationship with his late father. Ember gets upset when she sees Garden Central Station and explains that it reminds her of when she was a child and wanted to see a Vivisteria flower, as it can bloom around any element, even fire. However, she and Bernie were denied entry to the station while experiencing racism from the other elements who saw fire as destructive. The station eventually ended up flooding, and Ember never got to see the flower ever since. The duo then spots the source of the water coming from a cracked dam that stops the runoff of passing ships from making its way into Firetown. More water begins to spill out, so Ember and Wade quickly manage to block the crack using sandbags.

Later, Ember and Wade begin to date in secret. Although there are some activities they cannot do because of Ember being a fire girl, Wade helps find other things they can do. In their time together, Ember tries to keep the relationship a secret from her parents, but Cinder becomes curious of the guy her daughter is hanging out with when she smells love off of her. One day, Wade visits the shop to tell Ember the sandbags at the dam didn't hold long but must pretend to be a food inspector because Bernie hates water people. He gives Wade some of his coal nuts which are very hot, and Wade tries them out even though they burn him. When he tries to water them down, Bernie gets angry and bans Wade from the store.

At a beach where Wade and Ember gather more sand for the sandbags, Ember comes up with an idea after they discovered her heat melts the sand around her and makes glass. She uses the sand from the sandbags to create tempered glass with her flame and turn the glass into a barrier strong enough to stop the water from coming out of the crack. Later on, Ember joins Wade for dinner with his family at the home of his mother Brook Ripple. Even though it's awkward at first, Brooke tells Ember that Wade has not stopped talking about her since they first met. She meets Wade's siblings, his sister-in-law, his nephews and his uncle as well. Wade’s older brother accidentally breaks a glass pitcher, and Ember puts it back together in a more beautiful design, which impresses the Ripples. Everyone then gathers for a “Crying Game”, as Wade’s family is just as emotional as he is, but the objective of the family's game is to not cry. Ember and Wade eventually go up, and Wade manages to get Ember to tear up for the first time by giving her a heartwarming speech about part of his love for her. They then get a call from Gale, who has seen the tempered glass and is happy about it, so she declares the shop can stay. Ember and Wade celebrate.

Before leaving, Brook tells Ember about a possible job opportunity at a glassmaking company that could use someone with her skills. While Ember likes the idea, she is too conflicted with taking over the store. Wade follows her back to the shop where she admits to him that inheriting it is not something she really wants to do even though she does not want to disappoint her family. They get spotted by Cinder, who has been following them by tracking down the love she smelled from Ember. Cinder makes them get into her matchmaking room in the store where she does smoke readings on fire couples to see if their love is real. Wade manages to use Ember’s flame to shine through him to light his wick, but Bernie comes downstairs before Cinder can reveal the reading, and Wade has to leave. Bernie shares with Ember a story about how he and Cinder had to leave their homeland, Fireland, after a storm destroyed their old home. On the day they left for Element City, Bernie tried to give his father a bow, the highest mark of respect among the fire people, but his father did not return the bow due to seeing his son leaving their home as a betrayal. Now he wants to not go through the same with Ember and he tells her that he's lucky to have her.

Wade brings Ember to Garden Central Station for a surprise. Gale is there, and she creates an air bubble for Ember to enter underwater. Wade takes her underground where she finally sees the Vivisteria flowers, which all bloom when she goes near them. The air bubble starts to shrink, so Wade manages to swim out quickly with Ember. Despite their moment together, Ember is still hesitant to get close to Wade for fear that they may accidentally kill each other. Wade encourages her to take things slowly, and they manage to touch hands, creating steam. They get closer and are able to dance together, but once again, Ember feels an obligation to her family and runs back to the store. She also disappoints Wade by breaking up with him.

On the day of Bernie’s intended retirement, he holds a celebration with other fire people attending to announce that he is letting Ember take over the shop. Wade shows up to declare his love for Ember despite knowing how Bernie will react. However, in the process of admitting his love, he accidentally reveals Ember's tempered blow-up caused the pipes in the store to leak. Cinder confesses that she did find love in their smoke readings. Ember remains firm in her position to not disappoint her family, so she tells Wade that she never loves him back. But when he leaves, Bernie becomes disappointed in Ember for causing the pipe leaks and unretires, saying his trust in her has been broken. Ember goes to be alone when she spots that the glass from the dam has broken, and a huge flood is heading towards Firetown.

As Ember goes to warn the other citizens to get to higher ground, Wade, who was getting ready to leave Element City after Ember rejected him, sees everything and rushes back to help Ember. The flood reaches the store, and Ember goes inside to protect the blue flame. Wade helps her and manages to save the flame before the water gets everywhere. They end up trapped in the back alcove of the shop where Ember’s flame is getting too hot for Wade. Ember tries to break through the room to save Wade, but he doesn’t let her because she could be extinguished. They hold each other close in a hug, and Wade evaporates. Bernie and Cinder see Ember alive with the blue flame, and she cries over lying to her parents and because she really did love Wade. When she apologizes Bernie for possibly ruining his dream and life’s work, Bernie tells her that the shop was never his dream, but she was. The fire people then hear what sounds like Wade crying and dripping from the ceiling into a cauldron. Ember makes Wade cry by saying two things he told her during the Crying Game. Cinder declares Wade to be a perfect match for Ember and Bernie lifts the ban on Wade, which help him rematerialize. Ember and Wade share their first kiss, restoring their relationship.

Months later, Firetown is now more open to the rest of Element City the shop is rebuilt and is now open for other water, air and earth elements too, now the fire people are included with the other element kinds. Bernie officially retires and has given the shop to his neighbors, Flarrietta and Flarry. Clod has befriended another little fire girl that he woos. Gale finds out that Fern is a Windbreakers fan like her and decides to pursue him in a romantic relationship. Ember and Wade then prepare to leave for another city where the glassmaking company is located since Ember has accepted its internship. Bernie, Cinder, and Brook see their kids off. Before Ember boards the ship with Wade, she gives Bernie a bow the same way he did before back at Fireland, which he returns to her.

During the end credits, Bernie enjoys his time with Cinder during his retirement, Ember makes Wade a glass statue of himself with a big muscular body, Cinder reads Gale and Fern's love fortune, Clod dates the little fire girl, a water woman and an earth man kiss, the Lumen couple and the Ripples become close friends, Lutz and the other Windbreakers play another airball game Gale, Fern, Cinder and Bernie are attending, and Ember and Wade eventually return to Element City after an unknown amount time of traveling together.

Voice Cast

Main cast

Additional voices

Production

Development

News of the film was first reported on May 16, 2022 by Pixar when they dropped the concept art for its next feature, Elemental, which will hit theaters on June 16. Disney already had the Father’s Day weekend date reserved for an untitled Pixar film. It will be directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream. The movie was inspired by Sohn’s childhood in New York.

“My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 1970s and built a bustling grocery store in the Bronx,” said the director. “We were among many families who ventured to a new land with hopes and dreams—all of us mixing into one big salad bowl of cultures, languages and beautiful little neighborhoods. That’s what led me to Elemental.” The director added, “Our story is based on the classic elements — fire, water, land and air. Some elements mix with each other, and some don’t. What if these elements were alive?”[2]

On September 9, 2022, alongside the cast announcement, Peter Sohn talked more about Elemental. He said, “The idea [for Elemental] started with my parents. As immigrants to the U.S. from Korea in the ’70s, they had no family, nothing. But they managed to create a life here in New York,” Sohn said in introducing the film. “And just like them, many people have left their people and families to a new land, with hopes and dreams, all mixing into one big salad bowl of cultures, languages and neighborhoods.”

Denise Ream went on to describe the story as one “about anyone who’s ever made a sacrifice or taken a risk, set it in the hustle and bustle of the city, but with a twist.”[5]

On March 28, 2023, it was revealed that John Hoberg & Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh scripted Elemental from a story by Sohn, Hoberg & Likkel and Hsueh. Denise Ream produced, with Pete Docter exec producing, and Thomas Newman providing the score. Disney/Pixar also announced that Elemental will be accompanied in theaters by the Pixar short “Carl’s Date.”[6]

On April 19, 2023, Pixar Animation Studio revealed that Elemental would be last film of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, running from May 16 to 27. The film will be presented Out of Competition on May 27, ahead of its release in theaters in the US on June 16 and in France on June 21. Elemental is the fourth feature film from Pixar Animation Studios to be presented in the Official Selection, after Up, Inside Out and Soul.

Pete Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, said this year’s return to Cannes was particularly special for the studio: “As we all emerge from our pandemic cocoons and come together in story rooms, animation dailies and impromptu brainstorming sessions, it’s a joy and honor to have Pixar back on La Croisette. Directed by the extraordinary storyteller Peter Sohn, Elemental is so funny, full of heart and, frankly, stunning to see. It was created for audiences to experience on the big screen and I love that it’ll make its world premiere at Cannes.”

Adèle Exarchopoulos and Vincent Lacoste are set to voice the key Element City characters of Flam (Ember) and Flack (Wade) in the French version. The original voice cast includes Leah Lewis (Ember) and Mamoudou Athie (Wade). Cannes Film Festival head Thierry Frémaux said, “For many years, the Festival de Cannes has welcomed animated films from around the world. Pixar Animation Studios, with Up, directed by Pete Docter, made Cannes history by opening the 62nd edition of the Festival in 2009. It was a wonderful event!. This is another great opportunity, to present the amazing Elemental, for the ‘Last Screening’ of this 76th Festival de Cannes, and to think about our lives in such a powerful way.”

Docter, director Peter Sohn, producer Denise Ream and many actors voicing the characters of the film are expected to attend the red carpet screening in Cannes. The film joins 51 other features in this year’s Official Selection announced at a press conference in Paris last Thursday.[1]

Animation and design

Element City was modeled after New York City as a series of immigrant neighborhoods composed of organic materials that would complement each element. An example would be Fire Town, which was constructed with ceramic, metal, and brick. Production designer Don Shank says "design ideas inspired new technology, which inspired new design."[7] Sohn noted that he "went into more detail about how the design and tech process went for designing Ember and Wade." He believed personifying elements was a difficult challenge, although he declared that air was not nearly as difficult to portray as fire and water, having already personified clouds in Partly Cloudy. The character Wade Ripple is incredibly complex, with the biggest challenge being his transparency through creating visual effects. In order to make him transparent enough, the animators needed to find some middle ground for how to create the character.[8]

The set designers at the studio looked to cities like Venice and Amsterdam for inspiration. The water canals and the buildings that surround cities have immense detail and thought put into them. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in which most of the production took place, the production team of the film was unable to travel to these cities for research, so they spent many hours watching POV city tours on YouTube to get inspiration for Element City.[8] To feel less like an alien version of real-world cities, production designer Don Shank and his team brainstormed the evolution of elemental beings and their civilization.[9]

Over 151,000 cores were used for Elemental in three large rooms on the Pixar campus, making it a massive amount of computing power compared to previous Pixar feature films, due to Pixar having to upgrade and buy more computers for this film; for example, Toy Story (1995) had 294 cores, Monsters, Inc. (2001) had 672 cores, and Finding Nemo (2003) had 923 cores.[10]

Casting

In September 2022, during the D23 Expo Presentation, it was announced that Mamoudou Athie and Leah Lewis had been cast in the leading roles.[5] In March 2023, Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Catherine O'Hara, Mason Wertheimer and Joe Pera joined the cast.[6]

Music

On February 7, 2023, Thomas Newman was confirmed to compose and conduct the original score for Elemental. It marks Newman's fourth collaboration with the studio after Finding Nemo (2003), WALL-E (2008), and Finding Dory (2016), as well as his first Pixar film not to be directed by Andrew Stanton.[6][11]

Release

Elemental debuted out of competition as the closing film at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023[1], followed by the worldwide premiere on June 10, 2023, at Tribeca Festival.[12] The film was released theatrically by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in the United States on June 16, 2023[2], in RealD 3D,[13] 4DX,[14] and Dolby Cinema formats.[15] It was accompanied by the Dug Days special short film Carl's Date in theaters, which marked the first Pixar film to be preceded by a Pixar-produced theatrical short film since Bao (2018), which was theatrically released with Incredibles 2 (2018).[6] On February 16, 2023, following the commercial failures of Lightyear and Walt Disney Animation Studios' Strange World (both 2022), Disney reportedly considered extending the theatrical windows for both Elemental and Walt Disney Animation Studios' Wish in hopes of bringing families back to theaters.[16][17]

The first thirty minutes of footage of the film were shown during an early press event at the studio on March 28, 2023. It was positively received by critics for its worldbuilding, animation, and characters.[18]

The first twenty minutes of footage of the film were previewed in 3D at CinemaCon on April 26, 2023. It was positively received by critics, who appreciated its tackling themes of racism and xenophobia head-on of the movie.[19]

Marketing

Following the project announcement, the first look concept art of the film was released on May 16, 2022.[20] Nicole Clark for Polygon said fans are "pointing out the similarities to the Fireboy and Watergirl series of games, six in total, developed by Oslo Albet."[21] Following the voice cast announcement, a first look image and an exclusive teaser poster were released on September 9, 2022, during the 2022 D23 Expo Presentation.[5]

The teaser trailer was released on November 17, 2022, set to Bakar's "Hell N Back".[22] Jeremy Mathai of /Film commented positively of the footage, saying it "looks wonderfully rendered and irresistibly charming."[23]

An official full-length trailer was released on March 28, 2023, set to Astral's "High Five".[24] Charles Pulliam-Moore of The Verge commented positively, saying that "the movie's visuals are as imaginative as they are delightful", while noting that its "tough to say whether Elemental's take on beats from Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) will land with audiences, especially considering how some of its characters seem prone to destroying one another simply because of how their physical forms interact."[25]

A series of books based on the film was published in May 2023, including novelizations, short stories, a sticker album, a behind-the-scenes book, and coloring books, while the graphic novel is scheduled to be published on August 29, 2023.[26] A line of action figures and toy packs by Mattel were gifted, while visiting the studios for the film's press day. It was available for the following month.[27]

Gallery

Elemental Logo
 The image gallery for Elemental may be viewed here.


Notes and trivia

Easter eggs and references

References

v - e - d
Elemental Logo
Media
Elemental ([book series])
Characters
Ember Lumen • Wade Ripple • Bernie Lumen • Cinder Lumen • Gale Cumulus • Fern Grouchwood • Brook Ripple • Dewey Ripple • Clod • Harold Ripple • Flarry • Flarrietta • Alan Ripple • Eddy Ripple • Marco and Polo Ripple • Lake Ripple • Ghibli • Lutz • C.C. Stump
Songs
Steal the Show
Events
N/A
Locations
Elemental City • Firetown • The Fireplace • Water District • Periodic Park • Garden Central Station • City Hall • Fireland
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ To Close Cannes Film Festival
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Pixar Unveils Concept Art & Dates 27th Film ‘Elemental’ For Summer 2023
  3. ↑ ELEMENTAL
  4. ↑ Elemental
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 ‘Elemental’: Pixar Unveils Lead Voice Actors For Peter Sohn Film – D23
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Expands Voice Cast, Unveils Trailer
  7. ↑ ‘Elemental’ Filmmakers Peter Sohn & Denise Ream On Bringing Elements To Life: “We’ve Never Done This Before”
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Opposites Attract In Pixar's First Rom-Com – Elemental Press Conference Coverage
  9. ↑ ELEMENTAL Exclusive Interview with Production Designer Don Shank
  10. ↑ Elemental Fun Facts – 5 Things We Learned About the Film When Visiting Pixar (And More Screencaps)
  11. ↑ Thomas Newman to Score Pixar's Elemental
  12. ↑ Tribeca Festival Sets Opening, Closing & Centerpiece Films
  13. ↑ Pack your 3D glasses, we’re going to Element City! Experience Disney and Pixar's #Elemental in RealD 3D June 16. Tickets on sale now.
  14. ↑ 🌊 Get ready to experience @pixarelemental in 4DX! 🔥 With 4DX, you'll feel the heat of the flames, the chill of the water, and the rush of the wind. Don't just watch Elemental, feel it with 4DX.
  15. ↑ 🔥 Tickets for Disney and Pixar’s #Elemental are ON SALE NOW!💧 Don’t miss it in #DolbyCinema June 16: http://dolbylabs.co/Elemental
  16. ↑ How Much Is Too Much Marvel and Star Wars? Disney Rethinks Franchise Output
  17. ↑ Disney Reportedly Considering Longer Theatrical Windows for Upcoming Animation Releases
  18. ↑ Pixar's Elemental Footage Reaction: A Charming Romantic Comedy Simmers In A Mesmerizing World
  19. ↑ Pixar's Elemental Footage Sends Clear Message About Discrimination
  20. ↑ Check out this all-new concept art from Disney and Pixar's Elemental. See the movie June 16, 2023!
  21. ↑ Pixar's Elemental characters remind fans of classic platformer Fireboy and Watergirl
  22. ↑ What Is The Song In Pixar's Elemental Teaser Trailer?
  23. ↑ Elemental Teaser: Opposites Attract In Pixar's Newest Original
  24. ↑ Musou Music Group
  25. ↑ Elemental first trailer is a bubbling, sizzling feast for the eyes
  26. ↑ Numerous Elemental Books Announced and Covers Revealed
  27. ↑ Elemental Toys – Mattel Figures Featuring Ember, Wade and Clod