Disney and Pixar are once again setting out to create an animated tale with strong characters and even stronger emotions with their latest feature, ‘Elemental’.
The personally-fueled film by director Peter Sohn takes place in a city where fire, water, land and air residents all live together—but two inhabitants in particular—Ember, a fire resident (played by Leah Lewis) and Wade, a water resident (played by Mamoudou Athie), end up bonding and discovering that they actually might have a lot more in common on the inside than what meets the eye.
Ember is the second-generation daughter of immigrants, and she is fiery when it comes to who and what she loves. Wade on the other hand wears his heart on his sleeve (quite literally as the water element makes him see through and shows his emotions.) They are both missing something in life and know loss, and when they band together, they start to find some connection.
The road to getting these particular characters to come to life on screen however posed a new challenge for the animators and Sohn.
“I knew right away that those would be sort of our main characters for this film. But, you know, there was no [road] at Pixar to make characters like this,” explains Sohn in a global press conference for the film.
Sohn continued: “We just had get to an image that would come alive and emote before we were even talking about moving it. It was [a] conference of amazing artists, and I’m just so grateful for the amazing talent that everyone gave.”
The film follows suit to Pixar’s attention to detail, and as the film’s producer Denise Ream says, there is something new to discover every time you watch ‘Elemental’ when it comes to both the city and the characters. Sohn also noted that the average Pixar character has about 4,000 controls, but both Ember and Wade were close to double that at 10,000.
“Meaning you needed this control to try to get them to move like the element while there was an effect going on top of it,” he says.
After figuring out the look of the film, the next step was to sort out who the voices would be for the titular characters. “I always look for empathy and appeal just in the voice and in how I can connect to it. But then of course, you’re just looking for what you need or you’re hoping that the character needs,” Sohn explains.
For Ember, Sohn “serendipitously” found Leah Lewis when watching the film ‘The Half of It’, and he realized her fierceness in the role. And after watching videos of the actress on YouTube, the director also noticed the smokiness of her voice which reminded him of the character. For Wade on the other hand, Sohn discovered Mamoudou Athie from the film ‘Uncorked’ and the series ‘Oh Jerome, No.’
“[That show] had the emotional side of it, [and that’s] where I was connecting to Mamoudou. We had listened to a lot of crying, and most of the time it’s one note and it’s really ear piercing and you’re kind of done after the first four seconds of it,” adds Sohn. “But for some reason, Mamoudou had a way of inviting you [in] with each different version of crying that he was doing that the scene required. He was making it all authentic and real.”
Then, both Lewis and Athie then had their own time to connect to the characters.
“[Ember] kind of mirrors a bit of a younger part of myself, one in the past that was a bit more defensive. And even though we kind of see her as really guarded, I think that she’s just a bit fearful to step out into the world and see what these other elements have to offer, because she’s only known one thing in her life,” says Lewis.
The actress continued: “But she’s beautiful, she’s absolutely radiant. And I think the way that she moves is just so elegant and so flowy, despite her being fire, which is something that can be so explosive. She has so much range.”
Lewis also noted how fiercely loyal Ember is to her family and to what she believes in. And she related on a deep emotional level to that aspect in particular.
“It’s such a tender thing even talking about it, which is probably why I haven’t talked about it during this whole tour and these interviews—because it is something that just kind of rips me open in the most vulnerable of ways,” continues Lewis.
“The familial aspect that Ember has and being so loyal to her family and recognizing their sacrifice for her… Growing up as an adoptee from Shanghai, China, I grew up in a Caucasian household, but my mother and father were so supportive from a very early age of six and seven of me wanting to pursue acting and singing. The fact that that sacrifice for her doesn’t just completely go over her head… That’s never gone over my head either.”
Athie held a similar sentiment.
“It just felt like I had to play this part—I really felt like that. I think Wade is very intentionally simple, and I try to find simplicity in my life. The world is complicated enough and I think we kind of share that same motto of okay, what makes me happy? What makes me comfortable? How do I want to live my life? What is the best version of me? I think Wade is better at it,” says Athie. “But I certainly try. And also, when something is very well written and when something’s very clear and defined, all you have to do is follow the blueprint in front of you and fill it.”
‘Elemental’ essentially explores the relationship of two very opposite beings from the outside, and it does so in a world that has something to look at from every corner. The use of colors, metaphors and the elements drives the story, but the takeaway centers more on sacrifice, love and family—a trifecta in the world of Pixar and animation. And even more so when you look at the minds behind creating the movie. It was all personal for everyone involved, and that certainly showed at the press conference.
“I’m so grateful because in every frame of this movie, the love is so palpable, you know? You can feel and I was telling Pete, [there are] no cut corners on this movie,” finishes Athie. “There’s never anything that isn’t done to 100 and thousand 10 percent—that’s not even a number, but [I mean that we’re] fully committed to being as fully realized as possible. And it starts with love.”
Elemental is now in theaters.
