(Updated 06/09/2023)
A new Pixar movie is a reason to get excited, so we were pleasantly surprised when Pixar announced ELEMENTAL. The studio's 27th feature film comes from director Peter Sohn (THE GOOD DINOSAUR) and follows an unlikely pair of characters, Ember and Wade. She's a fire elemental; he's a water elemental. That means the movie will explore whether or not fire and water can ever mix.
All of which sounds a bit like a return to the fertile metaphorical territory Pixar explored in INSIDE OUT, and that's just fine with us. There's a very nice quote from Peter Sohn to explain the film a bit more, and the new trailer shows us what ELEMENTAL looks like in motion.
Elemental Origins
The roots of ELEMENTAL lie in director Peter Sohn's early years. "My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 1970s and built a bustling grocery store in the Bronx," he said in a statement. "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."
As you have no doubt already understood, the elements are key to the story's outline. "Our story is based on the classic elements—fire, water, land and air,” Sohn continued. "Some elements mix with each other, and some don’t. What if these elements were alive?"
When Can We See Pixar's Elemental?
ELEMENTAL will open exclusively in movie theatres on June 16.
Watch the Elemental Trailer
The latest ELEMENTAL trailer really breaks down the movie's world, in which the four different elements do not mix — at least until Wade and Ember meet. We get to see a lot of small looks at the rich world, all flavored with a wide sample of the jokes that keep the story flowing.
Every New Pixar Movie Is a Challenge
Going all the way back to the original TOY STORY movies, filmmakers at Pixar have stretched the studio's capabilities for every new project. "ELEMENTAL was entirely unique and it required us to work a bit backwards," production designer Don Shank told Inverse. "Our technical abilities informed and inspired design choices. And then those design choices in turn, inspired new technology, which then inspired new designs."
Artists at Pixar have emphasized that characters like Ember and Wade are literally made of the elements they represent. So to create the characters it wasn't like coming up with a human form that is on fire — Ember is fire through and through. Capturing that on screen isn't as easy as you might think, and that aspect of the characters is a major part of the story.
In the same interview mentioned above, Shenk describes the style that emerged as "a delicate balance between physics, logic, and cartoony appeal." You can see that at play in the trailer, and it is reflected in the casting choices as well.
The Voice Cast in Elemental
The two leads in the ELEMENTAL voice cast are Leah Lewis ("Nancy Drew"), who voices Ember, and Mamoudou Athie (JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION, "Sorry For Your Loss"), who voices Wade. You can see them at work in the voice booth thanks to the video above — and that video shows many other cast members getting into their roles, too.
The cast also features Ronnie del Carmen (SOUL) as Ember's father, Bernie, and Shila Ommi ("Little America") as Ember's mother Cinder. In addition, Wendi McLendon-Covey ("The Goldbergs") voices Gale, Catherine O'Hara ("Schitt's Creek") is Wade's mother, Joe Pera ("Joe Pera Talks with You") voices Fern, and Mason Wertheimer voices Clod.
ELEMENTAL opens on June 16.
All images courtesy of Disney and Pixar.