How Elemental, upcoming Disney and Pixar animated movie, combats xenophobia and how production team kept ‘breaking the rules’
- Korean-American director Peter Sohn says the racism his parents experienced influenced animated film about a family who migrate to city of different ‘elements’
- Its production team explain why animating characters based on fire and water was ‘complex’, and how the themes of family and growth make it ‘a special film’
Elemental director Peter Sohn says his parents ignited the spark for the upcoming Disney and Pixar animated film.
Sohn invited his parents – who had emigrated from Korea to the United States – to an event. Seeing them from the stage filled him with a deep appreciation for all they had done for their family.
“I saw them, and I was very emotional thanking them for all the sacrifices,” Sohn says. Elemental is a film about a family of fire elements who migrate to Element City, a place where there are also inhabitants of water, air and earth. The themes of family, tolerance and building connections run throughout the film that debuts this summer.
The film centres on Ember, a fire element who loves working at her father’s store but has trouble controlling her explosive temper, especially around uncomfortable customers.
Ember’s life in Firetown, a suburb with many inhabitants of fire, is turned upside down when, because of a plumbing accident, she meets Wade, a water element and inspector who lives in Element City.
