The story behind Pixar’s latest animated feature “Elemental” is a personal one to filmmaker Peter Sohn.
The opening shows a family arriving at the fictional port of Elemental City, which closely reflected the immigration story of Sohn’s parents from Korea to New York.The story breathes life into the earth elements of fire, water, land and air, depicting them as residents of Elemental City.
When Ember (Leah Lewis), a fiery young woman, meets go-with-the-flow water being Wade (Mamoudou Athie), they discover that, despite their conflicts, they have a lot in common.
As the two fall in love, Ember is faced with the internal conflict of being with Wade or following in her parents’ footsteps and running the family business.
As the son of first-generation immigrants, Ember’s struggle reflected not only Sohn’s personal experience, but that of many of the animators and storytellers behind the scenes.Below,…
Read full article