Disney Pixar's Elemental

[Daniel]

Details on their 27th feature film, along with logo and concept art:

Directed by Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur, Partly Cloudy short) and produced by Denise Ream (The Good Dinosaur, Cars 2), the film journeys alongside an unlikely pair, Ember and Wade, in a city where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together. The fiery young woman and the go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common.

Elemental is an original film inspired by Sohn’s childhood in New York. “My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 1970s and built a bustling grocery store in the Bronx,” said the director. “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.”

“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?”

Sounds interesting. Definite Inside Out vibes. They look great, can't wait for a real first-look.

[EricJ]

It looks good, and finally gets off the family albums to symbolic creature-worlds again, but...does Pixar make it a point to ONLY hire second-generation Asian immigrants as its animators?
(We can assume all the Latin ones are over at WDFA.)

[Dacey]

does Pixar make it a point to ONLY hire second-generation Asian immigrants as its animators?

No.

[James]

...does Pixar make it a point to ONLY hire second-generation Asian immigrants as its animators?
(We can assume all the Latin ones are over at WDFA.)

[ShyViolet]

I don’t understand…what’s wrong with hiring a diverse crew?

[Farerb]

I see that Pixar started using their movie pitch generator again. The one whose output is "what if X had feelings, and Y and Z need to learn to get along with one another".

I'm sorry that I'm more negative about it, but this is literally Zootopia + Inside Out. I'd rather they tried to venture into new ways of telling stories instead of doing the same old formula again and again, even if it's not "Pixar" enough for some people.

[EricJ]

I don’t understand…what’s wrong with hiring a diverse crew?

If you can hire a diverse crew that can tell STORIES, nothing.

When character animator Pete Sohn drew his own chubby lil' 10-yo. Korean self as Wilderness Explorer Russell in "Up", that was the perfect touch to an already perfect story.
When Domee Shi spent ninety minutes telling us she was Asian, Canadian, liked boy-bands and hated her overly traditional mom...not so much.

[ShyViolet]

You not caring for the film/story has nothing to do with the ethnicity/race of the director. It’s your opinion, which you are entitled to. But there’s no law in Hollywood stating that semi-autobiographical films that happen to involve some of that person’s culture are off limits. Again, if you don’t like it, just don’t watch.

I mean, was there something inherently wrong with showing the Americana culture of Andy’s childhood: Andy loving cowboy dolls and Space toys like Buzz Lightear? Is Toy Story 2 a waste of time because of the classically American TV show: “Woody’s Roundup”?? What’s wrong with celebrating/getting a greater understanding of other cultures?

[James]

I don't think it was a comment on diversity itself, but more a comment on just how many movies from Disney and Pixar in the past 6 years or so seem to be from second generation Americans. Technically if every movie is a semi-autobiographical story of an immigrant, that'd be a lack of diverse filmmaking!

[ShyViolet]

Even WDFA in the 90s did similar-themed movies about wanting to be more “Americanized”** (even if the word “America” isn’t actually mentioned) while dealing with your traditional upbringing (Pocahontas, Mulan). What’s wrong with Pixar making films like that too?



***Or Westernized

[Ben]

I saw the concept pic for Elemental earlier today and I must admit to thinking, "oh, here we go again", after imaginary monsters, feelings, and metaphysical souls got the same treatment. What’s next? Pixar's Gadgets, in which a bunch of worn out, everyday items get fed up being taken for granted and want more than just having their buttons pressed?

As always, the eventual film will likely blow us away, but the idea feels like it’s been done before…


As for second generation Americans, you do all realise that your land was someone else's before your forebears — hey, Europeans! — first arrived and essentially wiped them out…?

[Randall]

Turning Red DID tell a story. Maybe the fact that it was aimed at young teen girls means it wasn't meant for middle-aged men. And that's okay. Though, I enjoyed it just fine (aside from not being a fan of the colour scheme).

Personally, all these stories born of other cultures have been a breath of fresh air. It's been nice to see something other than Euro folktales being mined. But, of course, that is not what Elementals is; though, like any other piece of art, it will be informed by the experiences of its creators.

Elementals does feel like a Pixar film that was bound to happen someday. At first, I thought, "That's a great idea," but that turned into, "Though, it sounds a lot like a couple of other films." It could have a lot of "repeat" to it, but it does have good story possibilities.

[James]

Noticing and noting something isn’t the same as complaining about it. If the next five Disney movies happened to be made by left handed men with mustaches and an earring… it would be funny to ask “does Disney make it a point to ONLY hire left-handed mustachioed pierced ear men as its animators?”

Way too many of you seem to think noticing or talking about race is akin to racism! Someone pointing out how many movies coming out are all of a sudden being promoted as coming from second generation Americans shouldn’t make them subject to a history lesson on Native American genocide as if that is somehow relevant to what they said.

[ShyViolet]

Noticing and noting something isn’t the same as complaining about it. If the next five Disney movies happened to be made by left handed men with mustaches and an earring… it would be funny to ask “does Disney make it a point to ONLY hire left-handed mustachioed pierced ear men as its animators?”

With respect, why point it out at all if it doesn’t really matter? I never heard anyone asking back in the day: “Hey! Ever notice how so many Pixar animators eat in the Hidden City cafe?”

[Dacey]

I mean...

Pixar's next movie is Lightyear. Their recent movies include Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, Onward, and Soul...none of which were "semi-autobiographical films about immigrants" or "from second-generation immigrants."

This isn't even a "trend" of any sort yet.