Everything You Need To Know About Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” Movie

Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” Will Be Released In Theaters on June 16, 2023.

**© 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.**

If you’re an avid animation movie buff, you should brace yourself for an exciting ride on June 16, as Disney and Pixar have come together yet again to deliver “Elemental”; their latest theatrical creation.

Like all their previous blockbusters, this upcoming film promises to be an instant classic. Today, Entertainment Interviews brings you everything you need to know about this highly anticipated movie, from the official trailer and plot breakdown to the cast list and quotes from the brilliant filmmakers behind this masterpiece; including Director Peter Sohn. Buckle up as we prepare to take a deep dive into everything “Elemental” and be sure to catch it in theaters on June 16th!

“Elemental” Movie Trailer

“Elemental” Plot Synopsis

“Elemental” is set in the bustling and diverse Element City, where Fire, Water, Earth, and Air residents live harmoniously together. The story follows Ember, an independent and spirited young woman who’s life changes when she meets Wade, a carefree and easy-going guy who challenges herview of the world. Here’s the official film synopsis from the Disney and Pixar press release:

Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” is an all-new, original feature film set in Element City, where Fire-, Water-, Earth- and Air-residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. Directed by Peter Sohn, produced by Denise Ream, p.g.a., and executive produced by Pete Docter, “Elemental” features a screenplay by John Hoberg & Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh with story by Sohn, Hoberg & Likkel and Hsueh. The film’s original score was composed and conducted by Thomas Newman. “Elemental” opens only in theaters on June 16, 2023.
- Source: Disney/Pixar

“Elemental” Featurette Video: Welcome To Element City

Source: Disney/Pixar:

This new featurette introduces moviegoers to the film’s key characters and the voice talent helping to bring them to life. Included in the featurette are Leah Lewis, who voices the fiery Ember, Mamoudou Athie as the Water-guy Wade; Wendi McLendon-Covey as Wade’s stormy Air-Ball-loving boss, Gale; and Catherine O’Hara as Wade’s funny-but-tearful mom, Brook—plus insight from director Peter Sohn.

About The Movie: Full Character & Plot Breakdown

Ahead of Elemental’s theatrical release, director Peter Sohn and producer Denise Ream, p.g.a. were interviewed about the vision and plot line of the movie.

You can read what they had to say about what went into making the animated motion picture come life in a press advance provided by Disney/Pixar:

It’s easy to imagine the wind having attitude or fire being angry. A happy bunch of flowers could absolutely brighten the day of a lonely pot of dirt. And water might be calm and collected one day and in a big hurry the next. “What if the elements we all know were alive,” asks director Peter Sohn.

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

Sohn says the story, which is very personal to him, started with a drawing of a fire character and water character interacting. He imagined an unexpected friendship between them—a relationship sure to trigger awkwardness, banter and funny missteps. “I started layering in my relationship with my wife—I’m Korean and she’s American, half Italian,” Sohn says. “I hid the relationship from my parents at first because they—in an old-school way—wanted me to marry someone Korean. My grandmother’s dying words were literally ‘Marry Korean!’”

Sohn’s old-school parents eventually came around, finding they had a lot in common with their eventual daughter-in-law’s family. They also inspired another important aspect of the story, says the director. “It’s about understanding our parents as people. From that understanding comes an appreciation for the sacrifices that they make for their kids. My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 1970s, so I was born there and raised with Korean traditions, language, culture in the very American New York City. That led to some culture clashes along the way between first and second generation. I took for granted the trials and tribulations they must’ve experienced.”

Like Sohn, Ember is a second-generation immigrant—only her parents emigrated from Fireland to Element City where Ember is born and raised. “She goes on a journey of understanding her own identity and,” says the director, “with that, the meaning of what her parents have given her.”

LIGHTHEARTED FUN -- In Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental,” go-with-the-flow guy Wade (Mamoudou Athie) ushers fiery young woman Ember (voice of Leah Lewis) out of her comfort zone to experience Elemental City like never before. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

A highlight of Ember’s journey—and in many ways the impetus for it—is a fun and fateful friendship with a water guy named Wade. “In the beginning, Ember has disdain for the city, but Wade helps her begin to fall in love with everything it has to offer,” says Sohn. “We found ways to introduce her to the city like some of my favorite comedies do—serving up opportunities for laughs.”

Set in a city that brings elements of different backgrounds together, “Elemental” demonstrates that opposites do indeed attract. “It’s a comedy filled with heart,” says producer Denise Ream. “It’s a story about relationships—between Fire and Water, between parents and their kids and between all of us and our neighbors who might not look like us. It’s part comedy, part family journey and part culture clash.”

According to Ream, more than 100 first- or second-generation immigrants from Pixar came together to speak with filmmakers about their experiences. “It was phenomenal,” says Ream. “Most of us, wherever we are, come from somewhere else. There were so many emotional stories about what people went through to come here—their families’ experiences. I don’t think you can really explain the impact of something like that on a story.”

FUELING THE FIRE – Sparks fly in Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” when Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, gets to know a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade. Featuring the voices of Mamoudou Athie and Leah Lewis as Wade and Ember, respectively, “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Directed by Peter Sohn, produced by Denise Ream, p.g.a., and executive produced by Pete Docter, “Elemental” features a screenplay by John Hoberg & Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh with story by Sohn, Hoberg & Likkel and Hsueh. The voice cast includes Leah Lewis as the fiery Ember; Mamoudou Athie as the water-guy Wade; Ronnie del Carmen as Ember’s soon-to-be retired dad, Bernie; Shila Ommi as Ember’s love-seeking mom, Cinder; Wendi McLendon-Covey as Wade’s stormy and Air-Ball-loving boss, Gale; Catherine O’Hara as Wade’s welcoming mom, Brook; Mason Wertheimer as Ember’s admiring neighbor, Clod; and Joe Pera as an overgrown city bureaucrat, Fern. With original score composed and conducted by Thomas Newman, Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” opens in U.S. theaters on June 16, 2023.

Source: Disney/Pixar

“Elemental” Character Breakdown

No one knows the characters of “Elemental” better than its own director and producer, Peter Sohn and Denise Ream, p.g.a. In an advance of the movie, he was interviewed by Disney/Pixar’s media relations team and breaks down each character, giving his own unique perspective on how they came to be in this piece.

Here is a breakdown of each character from Sohn’s perspective via Disney/Pixar.

Ember Lumen

**Ember**
***© 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.***

EMBER LUMEN is a clever 20-something fire woman with a great sense of humor who can be hot-headed at times. What she lacks in patience she more than makes up for in love for her family. As the only child of immigrant parents, Ember is keenly aware of how much they sacrificed to give her a better life. She’s determined to prove herself to them and looks forward to taking over the family business, Fireplace, when her father, Bernie, retires. Says screenwriter Kat Likkel, “Ember is a proud fire person and is thrilled that her father trusts her to someday take over his shop. But then she’s thrown a curveball and it shakes up everything.” The curveball, of course, is a water guy with a go-with-the-flow perspective on life, who inspires her to take a closer look at herself and her hidden creative passions. The idea is 4 rooted in director Peter Sohn’s own life. “Going into the arts was slightly more difficult in my family,” says Sohn. “It was assumed I’d get a professional job like a doctor or a lawyer or a business person, and I was not heading down any of those paths. I wanted to get into the arts and my parents didn’t understand that world or how one could make a living doing that. But this story is not about Ember’s parents saying no—she’s telling herself no. It was really interesting to bring that struggle that was very external for me with my parents to an internal place for Ember. “Having been raised in the city, Ember has a certain level of street smarts,” continues Sohn. “But she’s not always great at connecting with others and she can get flustered. Her temper isn’t necessarily the big problem she thinks it is, however. Wade offers up his own theories.” Leah Lewis was called on to provide the voice of Ember. “We loved her smoky voice,” says Sohn. “She has a really feisty, fiery personality. She also has a wonderful tenderness to her and she can toggle back and forth so naturally. “She was in a movie called ‘The Half of It,’” continues Sohn. “I remember her performance: when she got frustrated, it felt real but fun at the same time. It wasn’t a scary, explosive anger that you might expect a fire character would have. Leah had an anger that allowed you to empathize with her frustrations.” Bringing Ember to life technically was one of the film’s biggest challenges. According to visual effects supervisor Sanjay Bakshi, their efforts were about much more than creating fire. “The balance of making the characters stylized but representative of the elements was a tricky line to walk,” he says. “Ember looks like fire, but she doesn't look like the fire that you photograph. It's a very carefully curated depiction of fire that makes her believable but also invites you to look in her eyes and see her expressions and really get captivated by her performance.”

Wade Ripple

**Wade**
***© 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.***

WADE RIPPLE is not afraid to show his emotions—in fact, his emotions are hard to miss. An empathetic, 20-something water guy, Wade is observant, a good listener and literally bubbling with compassion for others. He is close with his family—a lively and strangely weepy bunch who seek out opportunities to share their feelings. “Wade is a sap,” says director Peter Sohn. “He’s the type of character that will cry at a diaper commercial—he really feels his way through the world. What I love about him is that he’s a transparent character—literally and figuratively—you can always feel what he’s feeling. There’s nothing to hide with Wade. “We loved the idea of him playing two roles for Ember,” continues the director. “One, he represents a safe place that won’t judge. Wade is also a mirror character—we play off his reflectivity. In many ways, Wade was created to help Ember see herself. He doesn’t exist to teach her anything or guide her in any way, but as a mirror so that Ember could see a new version of herself.” Wade works as an inspector for Element City. He’s not exactly a go-getter when it comes to his career path, though he does take his job very seriously—even if it means issuing tickets to good people. “It may seem like he doesn’t have a lot of direction in his life,” says 5 story supervisor Jason Katz. “He goes from job to job—he’s a bit of a flibbertigibbet, but he also is completely comfortable with who he is. It’s rare to meet someone who—right out of the gate—has a desire to connect. Wade is very loving. His emotional EQ is off the charts—he’s a good listener. He’s just a big, cuddly guy—as much as you can cuddle water.” Sohn says that technically, Wade was the toughest character to pull off. “He is water,” says the director. “But as we worked for the right look, it was so easy to make him anything but water. If the movement was too slow, he looked like jelly. When we first started to test lighting the water characters, we could see right through them.” According to character supervisor Junyi Ling, the design for Wade is the culmination of a series of small choices. “There are color choices, shape choices—the shape of his hair, his lips, body—he’s a unique character,” Ling says, adding that it was important that the stylization of all characters was consistent. “We wanted to make it clear that Wade and Ember are in the same movie, too.” Adds character supervisor Jeremie Talbot, “One big challenge that Peter [Sohn] laid out for water, fire and air characters was that they shouldn’t look skeletal. Our tools are usually based around building characters that have flesh and bone. Fire and Water don’t have knees and elbows that are in fixed places like humans. When Wade takes footsteps, his foot can come and go—his whole leg can disappear into a blob and then come back. It’s controllable by the animator to reinforce the idea that he is water. It was a real challenge to loosen up our characters to allow them to work in a more dynamic way.” Artists wanted give Wade identifiable characteristics and have fun with his look and style. Says Maria Yi, character & look development art director, “A lot of attention, love and care went to Wade’s hair. We wanted it to have movement, without being too distracting. It’s like friendly reminder that this character is made out of water.” According to animation supervisor Michael Venturini, Wade’s eyebrows were also a key aspect to Wade’s overall performance. “Peter didn’t want that graphic feel of eyebrows painted on the water,” says Venturini. “He wanted them to have a transparency or a shimmering highlight. We used the eyebrows a tremendous amount to express Wade’s feelings, so there was a lot of iteration on how to get the look of Wade’s eyebrows to feel holistic with the rest of his design, and emotive at the level that we wanted. His eyes called for similar attention because they are extra glassy to get that watery feel. We wanted his eyes to pop and his brows to read clearly so you could really feel his expressions.” Mamoudou Athie was called on to voice Wade. “I saw him in this film called ‘Uncorked,’” says Sohn. “He had this tremendous charm and a sort of spark. He also had a really interesting range where he can go deep but then he can go high in this relaxed way. It really hit that watery go-with-the-flow energy. It all just felt smooth and flowy. And then I found this one clip of him from a show called ‘Oh Jerome, No’ when he was crying. His crying was so caricatured and funny, but it still felt real. That’s what sold me.”

Bernie Lumen

BERNIE LUMEN is a fire element with a big crackling personality that burns with pride. He’s passionate about his homeland, about his daughter, Ember, and about Fireplace, the shop he runs in Element City. He and his wife, Cinder, left Fireland two decades ago to 6 provide a better life for their only child, bringing with them little more than a blue flame that represents their past and people. Their neighborhood shop has become a destination for fire elements, and Bernie is patiently awaiting the day Ember will take it over. “What I love about Bernie is that he’s a character that has nothing but wonderful intentions for Ember,” says screenwriter John Hoberg. “I think an easier route would’ve been creating that overbearing dad who didn’t approve of his daughter. We’ve seen that before, but that’s not Peter’s story—Peter's dad was lovely. We wanted that quality portrayed in the film. So, what we landed on is that Bernie left his homeland to start a better life, but his father didn’t approve. And that moment has haunted Bernie. Everything he’s been trying to do since then is prove that he is not letting go of who he is—his shop is an homage to Fireland. But because of that, Bernie unintentionally puts pressure on his daughter to one day take his place without realizing the similarities it has to his own dad’s missteps.” Ronnie del Carmen voices Bernie. “I’ve known Ronnie a long time and he’s always been sort of a father figure to me,” says director Peter Sohn. “He’s an incredible artist. and a very soulful human. He has a way of layering empathy into characters and into situations in the way he breaks things down that I’ve always admired. Ronnie brings a tenderness to Bernie. He can also play that gregarious shopkeeper with bit of fragility that the character needed.”

Cinder Lumen

CINDER LUMEN is Firetown’s resident matchmaker, utilizing her natural gift that allows her to smell true love in a fire person’s smoke, whether they know it or not. She boasts numerous matches throughout her tenure—she’s proud of her track record—but this brusque, no-nonsense and traditional mom has yet to find a match for her daughter. “Cinder is empathetic and understanding of what Ember is going through,” says producer Denise Ream, who considers the character a favorite. “Cinder believes in love—that’s especially important to Ember’s journey.” Shila Ommi lends her voice to the loving matriarch. “She is fantastic,” says Ream. “Shila is such a great actress—funny and warm. She was able to capture Cinder’s charm in a genuine, natural way. I really, really love her performance.” Ream adds that finding someone with an accent was important to reinforce that Cinder and Bernie came from someplace else. “But we didn’t want to indicate a specific place in real life,” says the producer. “Shila is from Iran—so she modified her accent slightly to make it less specific but still unique. She did a really great job.”

Gale

GALE is an air element with a big personality, a lot of bluster and a fluffy pink complexion. As Wade’s boss, she expects a lot from her employees—she’s no pushover. Outside the office, Gale is a serious superfan of the Windbreakers, an Air Ball team who play at Element City’s Cyclone Stadium—they’re finally in the playoffs (toot toot!). “We’ve always imagined that she kind of blows with the wind,” says Hoberg. “She might be happy and then furious—she can turn on a dime. But she’s got a good heart and she’s full of life.” Character supervisor Jeremie Talbot says establishing the shape of the air characters was important. For Gale, that meant creating what looks like a hair style. “We needed to provide guides indicating how big the cloud puffs are on top of and around the side of her 7 head versus in her cheeks and where her mouth is,” he says. “Animators needed to be able to perform with those characters with an idea of what they would look like in 3D before the effects folks turned it into a real cloud.” According to effects supervisor Stephen Marshall, air characters like Gale are volumes. “They’re like a mix between a cloud and wind,” he says. “There are instances in the movie when they actually break apart—they’re wispy, airy—and then they form again. Those are super challenging shots because there are so many layers in an air character including a base cloudy-puffy component and another layer that provides more wispy detail. These have to be mixed together so they don’t feel like separated elements. Clouds tend to soften things in the way that they’re rendered—when you start softening things, you lose detail.” Wendi McLendon-Covey lends her voice to Gale. Says Ream, “We wanted this big, blustery personality. If you watch her in ‘Bridesmaids,’ she is hilarious! It was such a treat to work with Wendi.”

Brooke Ripple

BROOK RIPPLE is Wade’s loving and supportive mom. She’s wildly driven and successful with an eye for talent and a guiding hand. An architect with boundless empathy for the plights of others, Brook never passes up an opportunity for a good cry. In fact, her whole family is tender-hearted—sharing feelings and expressing emotion is the name of the game in the Ripple household. “Wade’s family is a really progressive one,” says director Peter Sohn. “They’re very well off—they live in a pool penthouse, we call it, complete with a doorman. They’re all in the arts, too, which is especially appealing to Ember.” Filmmakers reached out to Catherine O’Hara to voice Wade’s endearing mom. “Who doesn’t love Catherine O’Hara,” says supervising animator Michael Venturini. “There was a long line of animators who wanted to animate her scenes and those who ended up animating Brook won the lottery. “Early on,” Venturini continues, “we were trying to figure her out—understand how she complements Wade. Turns out, they’re a lot alike. He’s just a chip off the old block. And she’s hilarious.”

Clod

CLOD is young earth kid who lives in Firetown and tends to show up whenever Ember is around. Clod has a sweet crush on his fiery neighbor that he doesn’t even try to hide. He’s street smart with a caring, gentle heart, and is always throwing corny lines Ember’s way— earning little more than a smile and friendly dismissal. And yet, he persists. Screenwriter Kat Likkel likens the character to an iconic Disney character. “Clod is a little bit of a Jiminy Cricket,” says Likkel. “He sees something in Ember that she doesn’t yet see herself. He really helps her in his innocent, crushy way.” Mason Wertheimer provides the voice of Clod. “He has a great personality,” says Ream. “He’s a little cheeky, which is nice for that role. Clod provides comic relief and really broadens the world Ember lives in.” According to character supervisor Junyi Ling, creating the earth characters meant breaking them down to the most basic element. “Because dirt is made up of loose, solid granules, it 8 doesn’t behave like something that you can animate,” says Ling. “We spent a lot of time figuring out how to make characters that look like dirt move, stretch and compress in a way that’s not jarring. They’re fun characters with plants growing on them.” Adds tailoring & simulation supervisor Kristopher Campbell, “Earth characters are dirt and the vegetation is their decoration or their clothing. They might have oak trees, apple trees, conifers, bushes, flowers or a combination. One character has a tree-stump nose: I imagine that this is something that the character can change—like if they're going out they can take off their work nose and put on their evening nose.”

Fern

FERN is an overworked, exhausted, by-the-book bureaucrat who has really grown into his job—literally. As a vine-covered earth element who almost never leaves his desk, his office is a tangle of his extensive leafy tentacles. Fern is dry, sarcastic, slow-moving and does not suffer fools. Says Maria Yi, character & look development art director, “The core of the earth characters is actually made out of dirt—that’s their body and soul. They can grow cactus on top—any kind of plants. Giant trees, pine trees—which is like our hair, nails, clothing or jewelry. “First,” continues Yi, “we had to figure out what kind of dirt—if a character is sandy, it makes sense that he would grow more dry plants compared to a tropical rainforest’s wet, dark dirt.” According to Campbell, that stylish vegetation—like the hair or costume on a human character—had to be built, styled and simulated. “For the earth characters, we essentially tailored all of the vegetation,” he says. “The main trunks came out of the characters modeling department, but anything that's smaller than a trunk—branches, twigs, leaves— was all generated in our department. “One of the reasons we did was so that we could hook each of the details into a motion system,” continues Campbell. “The motion on the trees is pretty realistic—we wanted it to feel like the real thing atop these characters.” Joe Pera provides the voice of Fern. “He’s a comic,” says producer Denise Ream, “which works so well to capture Fern’s wooden approach to his bureaucratic job.”

Source: Disney Pixar

On Location: Filmmakers Create Multi-Cultural World for Elements

If you’ve ever wanted to take a peek behind the scenes of the entertainment industry, you might be interested in what goes on in the mind of a Hollywood filmmaker while creating a large-scale production like “Elemental”.

Disney/Pixar sat down with the film’s production crew to get an eye into the detailed creative process of making the film.

Here’s what they all had to say according to Disney/Pixar:

When director Peter Sohn was a kid in science class, the future storyteller’s imagination was already in full swing. “In middle school when you learn about the periodic table, I never saw it as a periodic table,” says Sohn. “I always saw it as apartment buildings. There was something so funny about the skyline of the periodic table—these little squares being someone’s home. Argon might live next to hydrogen—they would be neighbors.”

Decades later, Sohn would reflect on the idea as he developed the story and look of “Elemental.” “I boiled it down to classical elements—fire, water, air and earth—it’s hard to make fun of barium,” he jokes. Throughout the city, there are nods to Sohn’s early 9 inspiration. “Pieces of the city actually feel like a chemistry set with test tubes. One park is shaped like the periodic table.”

The city celebrates all elements. “It’s a very hopeful city in terms of forming interesting elemental relationships,” says Sohn. “Water can help earth grow materials to fuel fire. Air gives oxygen to fire. Of course, sometimes there can be friction between elements, too.”

“There’s a hierarchy to Element City,” continues Sohn. “The first community that arrived was water—that’s the basic infrastructure of the city. The next group would be earth—the city is built on a delta where earth and water meet. From there, air would come and then fire. There are two advantages for this: Element City represents an obstacle to Ember since its water-based infrastructure makes it harder for a fire element to navigate, but it also reveals an undiscovered beauty and opportunity for her.”

World Building

Production designer Don Shank was tasked with extracting whatever was in Sohn’s imagination to create the world of “Elemental.” Shank and his team referenced a number of locales to capture the essence of Element City. “It was a more difficult challenge than we thought,” says Shank. “We were looking at big cities all over the world—in particular those based on canal systems like Venice and Amsterdam. And while Peter said it was not based on New York—it’s an immigrant story and New York is his hometown. We all fall back on what we know when discovering our stories.”

Element City, like a lot of large cities, is made up of districts. Firetown, which was the last to be established, is home to Ember, her family and many fire characters. The rest of the city has dedicated districts for water, air and earth—though since those elements have been there for generations, the areas are more diversified. Since the city itself was founded by water elements, a canal system serves as the central mode of transportation— though each element has introduced their own methods of moving about the city over the years. “It’s not supposed to be a melting pot, really,” Shank says. “We didn’t want to create this homogenous world. We wanted to celebrate all these different cultures and characters living and working together.”

According to the production designer, artists had several tricks up their sleeves to help quickly identify the different districts. Water is generally blue, fire is red and orange, earth is green or brown. “Air tends to be purple, translucent, lavender or pink,” adds Shank. “But it’s subtle—no place is all one color. We didn’t want to be on the nose.”

Other methods of differentiation involved the style of buildings. Earth areas, says Shank, feature a lot of vegetation and terraces. “The shape of a building might look like a giant pine tree,” he says. “Water areas feature lots of waterfalls—water rushing down the sides of buildings. Structures in these areas might look like glass—translucent and sparkly. For air areas, we leaned into things like propellers—anything we could do to show air flow. We took a lot of inspiration from kites, clouds and vapor. Cyclone Stadium is shaped like a giant tornado.”

For Firetown, artists incorporated shapes reminiscent of cooking—like pots and ovens. Artists incorporated a lot of metal and stone—materials that fire characters can interact with without causing damage. “The Firetown neighborhood was originally established by 10 earth residents,” says Shank, “but has been adopted by fire over the years. There are earth buildings that have been retrofitted. I think it makes Firetown more interesting.”

Source: Disney Pixar

“Elemental” Cast & Crew

Leah Lewis (Ember)

Mamoudou Athie (Wade)

Wendi McLendon-Covey (Gale)

Mason Wertheimer (Clod)

Ronnie Del Carmen (Bernie)

Shila Ommi (Cinder)

Catherine O’Hara (Brook)

Joe Pera (Fern)

Director: Peter Sohn

Producer: Denise Ream

IMDB: Denise Ream
**Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb - © 2022 Corey Nickols**

Long Lead Day Filmmaker Bios

Peter Sohn

PETER SOHN (Directed by/Story by) joined Pixar Animation Studios in September 2000 and has worked on Academy Award®-winning feature films including “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles” and “WALL•E.” Sohn made his directorial debut on the Pixar short “Partly Cloudy,” before going on to direct his first feature “The Good Dinosaur.” He was also an executive producer on “Luca,” which debuted on Disney+ in June 2021.

In his role as a creative VP, Sohn is involved in key creative decision-making at the studio and consults on films in both development and production.

In addition to his contributions as a filmmaker, Sohn has lent his voice talents to Pixar’s feature films. In “Ratatouille” he voiced the character of Emile, and in “Monsters University,” he is the voice of Scott “Squishy” Squibbles. Audiences can also hear Sohn in “Lightyearas Buzz’s dutiful robot companion cat, Sox.

Prior to Pixar, Sohn worked at Warner Bros. with “Ratatouille” director Brad Bird on “The Iron Giant,” as well as at Disney TV. He grew up in New York and attended California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts). He lives in the Bay Area.

FIRE AND WATER – Set in a city where fire-, water-, land-, and air-residents live together, Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. Featuring the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie as Ember and Wade, respectively, “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Denise Ream

DENISE REAM, p.g.a. (Produced by) joined Pixar Animation Studios in October 2006 as the associate producer on the Academy Award®-winning feature film “Up.” Ream continued on to produce 2011’s “Cars 2,” working alongside director John Lasseter, and Pixar’s original November 2015 feature film, “The Good Dinosaur,” with director Peter Sohn. Currently, Ream is serving as the producer on Disney and Pixar’s upcoming feature “Elemental,” again alongside Director Peter Sohn. The film is set to release on June 16, 2023.

Prior to Pixar, Ream worked in visual effects production beginning at Boss Film Studios, a company who specialized in 65MM effects. She went on to work at Industrial Light and Magic where she spent 13 years in production. During her tenure there, Ream worked as a visual effects and animation producer on a number of projects including “Daylight,” “Eraser,” “Deep Impact,” “Amistad,” “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Timeline” and “Tears of the Sun.” Ream also served as the visual effects and animation executive producer on “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” and spent her last year at ILM as an executive in charge of production for “Mission Impossible 3,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “Lady in the Water” and “Transformers.” 11 Born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif., Ream graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in the Bay Area.

FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT -- In Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental,” fiery young woman Ember (voice of Leah Lewis) lives with her immigrant parents in Firetown—a borough of Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Sanjay Bakshi

SANJAY BAKSHI (Visual Effects Supervisor) came to Pixar Animation Studios in April 2002 with an extensive background in computer graphics. His skills were first applied in the studio’s tools department, where he worked on Academy Award®-winning films “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles” and “Cars” as tools developer.

Bakshi previously worked as the groom lead on the Academy Award®-winning feature “Ratatouille” as a digital hairdresser who is responsible for the hair on humans and the fur on rat characters. Bakshi’s role was to support the hair/fur technology and supervising the groom team. He was the supervising technical director on “Monsters University” and 2015’s “The Good Dinosaur.” Bakshi also served as supervising technical director on “Onward.”

A Saskatchewan, Canada native of Indian descent, Bakshi’s strong interest in computer graphics originated from when he used to program graphic algorithms on an Apple2. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer graphics at the University of Saskatchewan; he resides in Piedmont, Calif.

SUPERFAN -- In Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental,” fire-woman Ember (voice of Leah Lewis) and water-guy Wade (voice of Mamoudou Athie) track down air-resident and superfan Gale (voice of Wendi McLendon-Covey) at Cyclone Stadium where the crowd cheers for their home Air Ball team, the Cropdusters. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Don Shank

DON SHANK (Production Designer) first worked for Pixar Animation Studios as a freelance artist in development on the features “Monsters, Inc.” and “The Incredibles,” before joining full time in November 2004. Shank continued as an artist in development and art director, sets for the Academy Award®-winning feature “Up.” He contributed to the design for “Ratatouille” and worked as the production designer for the short film “Day & Night.” Shank also served as an artist in development and sets artist for the studios Summer 2015 release “Inside Out,” and worked as the art director for sets for “Finding Dory.”

As a production designer, Shank develops the sets and environments for the world of the film. He uses research to create concept art and refine the designs to meet the story and camera needs. After the set design is finalized, he forms a model packet that the set department utilizes to build and shade the final model.

Prior to joining the studio, Shank worked on several animated projects, including “Dexter’s Laboratory,” “Buy One, Get One Free,” “Ren and Stimpy,” and earned Emmy Awards® for his work on “Samuari Jack” and “Power Puff Girls.”

Raised in Brawley, Calif., Shank studied character animation at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Shank resides in Oakland, Calif.

MEET MY MOM -- In Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental,” go-with-the-flow guy Wade (Mamoudou Athie) introduces fiery young woman Ember (voice of Leah Lewis) to his mom, Brook (voice of Catherine O’Hara). Ember is decidedly out of her element, but quickly warms up to his family. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Junyi Ling

JUNYI LING (Character Supervisor) joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2004 as an intern on the short film “One Man Band,” and soon began working as a full-time employee as a shading technical director on the Academy Award®-winning feature film “Ratatouille.” Since then, he has been a shading and grooming technical director on Academy Award®- winning films “Up” and “Toy Story 3,” a characters shading lead on “Cars 2” and characters supervisor on “The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 3,” and “Soul.” Ling has also worked as a 12 research engineer with the illuminations team in the tools department.

As a technical director and characters supervisor, Ling likens his work to creating puppets in the computer and giving them a realistic appearance of specific materials like flesh, cloth, hair or metal.

Ling was born and raised in Shanghai, China, and moved with his family to Texas when he was 13 years old. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s in computer engineering from Texas A&M University; he resides in San Francisco.

IT’S “ELEMENTAL” -- In a city where fire-, water-, land-, and air-residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Jeremie Talbot

JEREMIE TALBOT (Character Supervisor) joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2008 as a character modeler and rigger for the short film “Partly Cloudy,” and continued to make characters in the Academy Award®-winning film “Brave” and later, “Monster’s University.” Talbot was a character supervisor for the feature films “Finding Dory” and “Onward.”

As character supervisor, Talbot is responsible for bringing the creative and technical teams together to create the film’s characters. This team of artists bring the concept art into the computer to generate the final characters that the audience sees in the film. This includes digital sculpture, rigging and tailoring, as well as shading and final paint and groom.

Talbot has been creating characters in feature films, television and video games for over 20 years. Raised in Hamilton, Ontario Canada, Talbot moved to Plano, Texas, in high school, and went on to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. He resides in Marin County, Calif.

Stephen Marshall

STEPHEN MARSHALL (Effects Supervisor) joined Pixar in 2012 and worked as an FX lead on “The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 3” and “Onward.” Marshall then worked as an FX artist on “Monsters University,” “Finding Dory,” “Incredibles 2,” “Inside Out” and “Soul.”

As an FX artist, Marshall gravitates toward complex simulations in fire, water and destruction and has received an Academy Award for scientific achievement for his work on large-scale rigid body simulations.

Prior to Pixar, Marshall began his FX journey in 2000 at Sony Pictures Imageworks where he worked on several feature-length visual effects movies.

Gwendelyn Enderglu

GWENDELYN ENDEROĞLU (Directing Animator) joined Pixar Animation Studios in July 2013. She has worked as an animator and character development artist on “Inside Out,” “The Good Dinosaur,” “Coco,” “Onward” and “Luca.”

As a directing animator, Enderoğlu helps oversee the animation team. Along with the two other directing animators, Enderoğlu’s role was to test and help develop the show’s unique character rigs and animation style, as well as give notes, feedback and advice to the animators to help them execute the director’s vision and elevate each shot in the film.

Raised in Lansdale, Penn., Enderoğlu attended Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla. After graduating with her BFA in 2006, she spent several years working in 13 the animation, VFX and previsualization fields before joining Pixar. Enderoğlu was nominated for the 2022 Visual Effects Society award for outstanding animated character in an animated feature for her contributions to the titular character of “Luca.”

WELCOME TO ELEMENT CITY – Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” takes fire, water, earth and air and imagines what it would be like if they were alive and living in the same city – a place called Element City. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Allison Rutland

ALLISON RUTLAND (Directing Animator) joined Pixar Animation Studios in April 2009. She worked as an animator on several Academy Award® -winning feature films including “Toy Story 3,” “Brave,” “Inside Out,” and “Coco.” Rutland also served as the Directing Animator on “Onward.”

As a directing animator, Rutland helped to oversee the animation department. Along with the other directing animators, Rutland’s role is to give notes and feedback to the animators to help accomplish each shot.

Growing up in Milton, Ontario in Canada, Rutland attended McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. She went on to animate TV shows, commercials and VFX films. Rutland was the recipient of the 2016 Annie Award for outstanding achievement for character animation for her work on “Inside Out.”

Rutland resides in El Cerrito, Calif.

“Elemental” Movie Posters

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“Elemental” at The 76TH International Cannes Film Festival

Source: Disney/Pixar:

Pixar Animation Studios returns to the globally revered Cannes Film Festival for the world premiere of its all-new feature film “Elemental” on May 27, ahead of its theatrical release on June 16. Debuting out of competition as the closing film of the 76th edition of the festival, “Elemental” is the fourth film from the storied studio to be selected for the event and joins previous favorites “Up,” “Inside Out” and “Soul.”

Pete Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, said this year’s return to Cannes is 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,” said Docter. “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.”

Docter, Sohn and producer Denise Ream will join members of the film’s voice cast at the event. Cannes has hosted the international competition since 1946. “For many years, the Cannes Film Festival has welcomed animated films from around the world,” said Thierry Frémaux, general delegate, Cannes Film Festival. “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’ on the closing of this 76th Cannes Film Festival and to think about our lives in such a powerful way.”

Disney And Pixar's "Elemental" Photocall at Carlton Pier

These Images are from the stunning photo call featuring voice talent and filmmakers from Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” on Cannes’ iconic Carlton Beach. The film will close the 76th International Cannes Film Festival tomorrow, May 27. Filmmakers Peter Sohn (director), Denise Ream (producer) and Pete Docter (EP and CCO of Pixar) joined English-language voice talent Leah Lewis (Ember) and Mamoudou Athie (Wade), plus members of the French-language voice cast Adèle Exarchopoulos (Ember) and Vincent Lacoste (Wade) tonight on the beach.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: Mamoudou Athie and Leah Lewis attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: Adèle Exarchopoulos and Vincent Lacoste attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: (L-R) Pete Docter, Peter Sohn, Denise Ream and Jim Morris attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

MAY 26: (L-R) Pete Docter, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Vincent Lacoste, Denise Ream and Peter Sohn attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: (L-R) Pete Docter, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Vincent Lacoste, Denise Ream and Peter Sohn attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CaptionMAY 26: (L-R) Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pete Docter, Denise Ream, Peter Sohn attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: (L-R) Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pete Docter, Denise Ream, Peter Sohn attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: (L-R) Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pete Docter, Denise Ream, Peter Sohn, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Vincent Lacoste and Jim Morris attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: Mamoudou Athie attends the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Disney)

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: Leah Lewis attends the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Disney)

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: Vincent Lacoste and Adèle Exarchopoulos attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Disney)

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: (L-R) Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Disney)

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: (L-R) Pete Docter, Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Denise Ream and Peter Sohn attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Disney)

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 26: (L-R) Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pete Docter, Denise Ream and Peter Sohn attend the photocall for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton Pier on May 26, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Disney)

“Elemental” Friday Photocall at the 76th International Cannes Film Festival

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Vincent Lacoste attends the photocall for the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Vincent Lacoste and Adèle Exarchopoulos attend the photocall for the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: (L-R) Jim Morris, Peter Sohn, Denise Ream and Pete Docter attend the photocall for the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: (L-R) Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pete Docter, Denise Ream, Peter Sohn, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Vincent Lacoste and Jim Morris attend the photocall for the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Mamoudou Athie attends the photocall for the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Leah Lewis attends the photocall for the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie attend the photocall for the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Adèle Exarchopoulos attends the photocall for the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

Disney AND Pixar’s “Elemental” Closes 76th International Cannes Film Festival

Photos: Stars and Filmmakers at Spectacular Red-Carpet Event

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: (L-R) Jim Morris, Peter Sohn, Denise Ream, Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Pete Docter, Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie attend the World Premiere for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: (L-R) Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pete Docter, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Denise Ream, Vincent Lacoste, Peter Sohn and Jim Morris attend the World Premiere for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Pete Docter presents Best Director award to Tran Anh Hung during 76th International Cannes Film festival Awards Ceremony at Palais des Festivals on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Pete Docter during 76th International Cannes Film festival Awards Ceremony at Palais des Festivals on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: (L-R) Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Denise Ream, Pete Docter, Peter Sohn, Vincent Lacoste and Jim Morris attend the World Premiere for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: (L-R) Jim Morris, Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Peter Sohn, Denise Ream, Pete Docter, Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie attend the World Premiere for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Adèle Exarchopoulos and Vincent Lacoste attend the World Premiere for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Adèle Exarchopoulos attends the World Premiere for Disney and Pixar's "Elemental" during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

Disney And Pixar's "Elemental" World Premiere screening in Cannes, France

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Cast & filmmakers received standing ovation during the World Premiere screening of Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” during 76th International Cannes Film festival Awards Ceremony at Palais des Festivals on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

Disney And Pixar's "Elemental" closing party for 76th International Cannes Film festival Awards Ceremony at Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 27: Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” themed fireworks at the closing party for 76th International Cannes Film festival Awards Ceremony at Palais des Festivals on May 27, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Serge Arnal for Disney).

Disney And Pixar’s “Elemental” Promotional Mall Tour

Source: Disney/Pixar:

An exciting multi-city mall tour that invites fans into the world of “Elemental”—a stunning locale only Pixar artists could create—kicked off Friday, May 19, in New York City’s Brookfield Place and will remain through May 21. Disney and Pixar’s Elemental Experience, which hits Chicago (May 26-28), Dallas (June 2-4), Los Angeles (June 10-12), and San Francisco (June 16-18), offers an immersive thematic environment for visitors of all ages. Sponsored by Fandango, Dolby and I’m the Chef Too, the tour features fun film-themed activities like photo and video opportunities, a chance to draw with Pixar artists, a movie-ticket grab in a wind tunnel, plus giveaways and special film content.

Disney and Pixar's “Elemental” Experience - Pre-Launch Event In New York: Director Peter Sohn On Hand for Event

Disney and Pixar’s Elemental Experience—an immersive, thematic environment that invites fans into the imaginative world of “Elemental”—kicked off this morning in New York City’s Brookfield Place. “Elemental” director Peter Sohn dropped in for the ribbon-cutting to officially launch the first tour stop that runs through May 21.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 18: Peter Sohn (R) attends Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience - Mall Tour Pre-Launch event at Brookfield Place, Winter Garden on May 18, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 18: A view of Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience - Mall Tour Pre-Launch at Brookfield Place, Winter Garden on May 18, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 18: Director Peter Sohn attends Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience - Mall Tour Pre-Launch event at Brookfield Place, Winter Garden on May 18, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 18: (L-R) Peter Sohn, Scott Wallace and Lisa Wallace attend Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience - Mall Tour Pre-Launch event at Brookfield Place, Winter Garden on May 18, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar)

Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience - Launch Event in New York

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 19: The Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience Mall Tour launch at Brookfield Place, Winter Garden on May 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 19: (L-R) Peter Sohn and Lisa Cabello attend the Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience Mall Tour launch at Brookfield Place, Winter Garden on May 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 19: Guest attends the Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience Mall Tour launch at Brookfield Place, Winter Garden on May 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 19: Guests attend the Disney and Pixar's Elemental Experience Mall Tour launch at Brookfield Place, Winter Garden on May 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Disney/Pixar)

Carl’s Date

Via Disney/Pixar:

This year, Pixar Animation Studios resumes the magical moviegoing tradition of pairing their feature film with an animated short—like 2018’s Oscar®-winning “Bao” that accompanied “Incredibles 2” in theaters. Releasing in front of “Elemental” is a new short that catches up with Carl Fredricksen (voice of Ed Asner) and his lovable talking dog, Dug (voice of Bob Peterson), who were introduced in Pixar’s Oscar®-winning feature “Up.” Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® Award winner Bob Peterson and produced by Kim Collins, this all-new short, “Carl’s Date,” finds Carl reluctantly agreeing to go on a date with a lady friend—but admittedly with no idea how dating works these days. Ever the helpful friend, Dug steps in to calm Carl’s pre-date jitters and offer some tried-and-true tips for making friends—if you’re a dog. “Carl’s Date” opens in theaters in front of Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” on June 16, 2023.