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From Pixar Animation Studios, Elementary (in theaters June 16, 2023) is set in a city where the denizens of fire, water, earth, and air live together and interact in ways they can’t help but influence each other. And though it seems they couldn’t be more different from each other, the unlikely couple of fiery Ember (voiced by Leah Lewis) and the fluid Wade (voiced by Mamoudou Atieh) discover that they actually have more in common than they thought.
During this personal interview with Collider, Dir son of peterwho was inspired by his own childhood in New York with parents who immigrated from Korea with hopes and dreams for his family, spoke about the Sox’s subsequent pitch in A light year with direction Elementaryhow it feels to find her tribe at Pixar, weaving a very personal story with fantasy elements, the fun of figuring out how the elements will interact with each other, what Ember and Wade have in common, and what she’s most excited about when it finally comes down to it to present this film to the public.
Collider: I love that you’re continuing your time voicing the much-loved Sox character in A light year with directing a film, p Elementary. How does it feel to have that balance that not many people can have?
PETER SOHN: It’s super exciting. I feel very lucky, but it all comes from trying to have fun with all these works [at Pixar]. Working with (A light year director) Angus [MacLane]he’s just such a sci-fi geek as I am, so it was hitting that movie-loving side where Elementary it’s really different on the other side. It feeds both of those things, so I’m totally lucky.
You talked about how you wanted to do animation for Pixar and that you went to art school, but when you wanted to start there, you didn’t have enough experience to start working in animation yet, so you started in the art department , went to the story department, started doing voice work, and now, here you are. Have you always wanted to work at Pixar? What is it like to be where you are now, knowing that you had no experience when you started, but still got there?
SOHN: Yes. I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, it was all movies and animation and all that. Most of my childhood was spent trying to understand Disney animation, feature animation and some anime like Akira or Voltron, or anything broadcast on television since the 1980s. This love has driven me all the way so far and continues to do so. This magic trick of the book to understand this art form is the main thing. When I was growing up it was mainly Disney. I just wanted to be an animator like Frank [Thomas] and Ollie [Johnston], and live that life. At the same time, I loved making movies. Coming to Pixar was a dream come true in terms of working with like-minded people. When I was growing up in New York, everything was so much about your race and skin or culture, but I didn’t realize the concept of finding a tribe of like-minded people who love movies, love understanding them, and love making them. This is what [Pixar] rise, tribe.
Elementary looks crazy and wild. I’m not sure what to make of it because it feels like nothing we’ve seen from Pixar. Is it scary to be a completely original film where people don’t go into it with a pre-existing connection to the material, or is there fun in being unexpected?
SOHN: I would say both. I’m totally scared of how people will react to this. There are a lot of artists who are working really hard to try to do something new in terms of non-kinematic models that are just constantly moving, especially with air, water and fire characters. It’s just that a lot of work and love has gone into this technical process. At the same time, we hope that the audience doesn’t see that, but that they see characters that they embody, and hopefully fall in love with that. But I’m scared for sure.
You talked earlier about this story being very personal to you. What is it like to weave a personal story into a fantasy story where your characters are those elements?
SOHN: Yeah, that personal hook was definitely a driving force and North Star for me, in terms of thanking our parents and just getting into these culture clash themes. But it’s not an autobiography, so there’s a way to break away from it. Obviously I’m not an item, but some of the themes come from a real place. It also comes from a real place for much of the crew, as and when it does. This helped me. Something about these themes is just very universal, so it was great fuel to do this, but at the same time, it’s vulnerable. I can’t lie, it’s vulnerable to just be like, “Oh, well, these are some of the problems I had with my parents and with trying to fit into a country I was born in.” It gets bare all the time and people they rate it so it will hurt. But at the same time, it’s done by so many people that I can’t take all the credit.
These films always go through a process. They always take quite a journey to get where they are. How much did this film evolve from its original idea, and how far into the process did you really solidify what it was actually going to be?
SOHN: That’s a great question. I feel like North Star was always there, that idea of a culture clash and the idea of that Romeo and Juliet type of story and understanding the sacrifices that our parents made for us. It has always been cement. The story has changed a lot over the several screenings. I feel like our middle screening is when we really hit on what this movie is, or how best to capture those themes and back it up with that story. The middle was our starting point and from there we just strengthened and added and tried to use Elementary history as best we can.
From watching this teaser, I love the water subway and how we can see the ways each of the elements interact as they pass each other. I liked the water to sneeze on the ground and the grass to sprout. It was all so funny and clever. What was the process like to figure out how these elements would interact? Do you really have to think about it every moment when you’re dealing with characters like that?
SOHN: Yes, that’s what I meant by exploiting it. Every moment required a joke or an idea, but then it also required an effect, and effects are very expensive. With these characters, basically every hit is in effect, so there’s a lot of planning involved. There are lots of fun sessions and story sessions trying to figure out the best way, economically, to use the elements. It was this balance of trying to find the best way to play.
It’s pretty obvious how different fire and water are, but what do Ember and Wade really have in common? What draws them to each other?
SOHN: It’s kind of funny because they’re such polar opposites. The Venn diagram of what connects the two of them is universal to all of us, in terms of being vulnerable and seeing each other for the first time. Why they fall in love is this Venn diagram. I don’t want to spoil anything from the movie, so the best I can say is that it’s a thin window of shared [commonalities] for them.
What was it like for you working with the actors who voice Ember (Lia Lewis) and Wade (Mamudou Atti)? What do you like about this collaboration? Does having voice experience affect the way you approach working with your actors? Do you understand what they need to hear from you more?
SOHN: Yes, I think so. I think the voice acting helps me a lot, but I’m not a trained actor that way, so I can only use a little of the experience. Most of the time it really tries to figure out what the story needs. We’re making a film about elements and trying to find characters who fall in love. There’s a chemistry that’s needed between the two performers, and trying to find that chemistry wasn’t something I’d done before. The film will live or die on this chemistry. The audience has to believe that they can come together, both just the elements and as performers. I’m knocking on wood, but I hope people feel it. That was the main challenge, trying to get that chemistry on screen.
With this film not coming out until June 2023, what are you most excited about when it comes to the audience that will see it?
SOHN: Oh boy. I really hope they enjoy how these characters move through this world. The thing that we build so much on is Ember and then when she meets Wade, and how they travel through this world, the elemental city, and how that affects her identity. I hope people can relate to this journey for sure. It’s also about families and how different families can be. I married a non-Korean and it was shocking how different our cultures are. We tried to bring these ingredients. I hope people can relate to him that way.
Elementary is in theaters June 16, 2023.
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