At the discovery of Elemental Experience Mall Tour in San Mateo, California, we had the opportunity to talk to some of the people from the project. Lisa Cabello is a Disney spokesperson who you may be familiar with from the Disney Movie Insiders podcast. We also talked to Elemental The animator’s director, Gwen Enderoglu, and Pixar’s executive vice president of production, Jonas Rivera.
Laughing Place: What’s it like celebrating Elemental and the world of Element City here with all these families in the San Francisco Bay Area?
Lisa’s Hair: Very, very special. I’m actually from the Bay Area, so it’s very personal to me. I love this movie so much. It’s vibrant, it’s sincere, it’s humorous, so creating an experience like that for people to come in, have fun with photos, experience activities is really amazing.
A place to laugh: You can bring this movie to life through various elements that are in Element City. How did you create all these things and put them together?
Lisa’s Hair: This film just pops out, so as soon as you see it and the idea that we’re imagining elements is alive, you want to experience it, so we had to do that with each of these individual activities.
From the hydration station where you can sip some water, to taking a picture, how perfect is that? Ember, she works at her father’s local store in Fire Town, so we had to bring that here too. You can make your own hot and cold truffle from our sponsor, I’m also the chef, so it’s a really fun activity that keeps you immersed in the story. The wind tunnel, we really like it because you can navigate the gusts and try to get your own Fandango movie ticket. How fun is that? The Pixar Learn to Draw experience you talked about, you learn from the Pixar artists, these amazing minds behind the film. They created this world from scratch. How cool is that? Then. Of course, to complete this, we have to introduce the Earth, to land us there in the end. One of our favorite characters, Claude, in the movie, is there to take a picture with you. There are apple seeds to take home, so you can just keep celebrating at home.
A place to laugh: Here we have some young or budding animators learning how to draw from Pixar artists, as you mentioned, and we talked about how that might be the spark that makes them true fans of animation. What movie made you a fan of Disney movies?
Lisa’s Hair: Oh wow. I would say Toy Story was definitely one of my all time favorites. I loved the whole franchise. I mean, ugh, good lord, you’ll catch me on the wrong day and it’ll just be a water job. I absolutely love it so much. Up is another one of my favorites. Ratatouille, I could go on and on, but yes.
Laughing Place: How does it feel to see a film you’ve worked on come to life in such a physical way here?
Gwen Enderoglu: Honestly, there’s nothing like it. We’re lucky to have a few stands and stuff at Pixar, but this space is so immersive. To be next to a life-size Wade and a life-size Ember, it really transports you into the world in a way that’s completely different than watching the movie on the screen.
A place to laugh: what it’s like to have at last Elementary out in the world?
Gwen Enderoglu: It feels great, really. I think people can see all the hard work and love we put into every pixel on the screen. This movie is unlike any other on the screen. It’s so colorful, it’s so vibrant. Honestly, I just feel so proud of my team, especially, and just all the work they’ve put in there. It’s just beautiful.
Laughter Spot: We saw you drawing with some kids earlier today. We talked about how this could be a moment for the kids who come here over the next few days that sparks their interest in becoming animators, makes them not just watch them and want to be a part of the process.
Gwen Enderoglu: Absolutely. I think it’s a responsibility we all have in whatever industry we’re in to bring interest to the younger generation, share the gift of what we can do with others and help inspire them. I really think we all have moments in our childhood when we can look back at it, point at it and walk away, that’s what set me on this path. If that’s possible for a kid who’s coming to visit, I think it could be amazing.
Laughing Place: So Elemental is out. what is
Jonas Rivera:to go out. We are so excited. These movies take years and years and years to make. We’ve always said that these movies are surprise parties for the world. We have lived with it for so long. We’re so proud of it, every frame we have, everything. You put it out into the world and it’s this combination of nervousness and excitement and you just hope that people like it as much as you do. So it feels great. We are proud of it. We are proud of everything. I think what I like about this movie is that there is no cynical tone to it. Pete Sohn, who I love, he’s just a very nice and warm guy and this movie captures his vibe. Jonas Rivera:
A place to laugh: You can celebrate with fans this weekend here at the mall with an experiential version of it. After being isolated for the last few movies where we couldn’t do that kind of kid stuff, how does it feel to be able to see families enjoying the world of Elemental and Elemental City?
Jonas Rivera: That’s all because you’re right. First, we’re so used to hiding at Pixar, where almost everything is a secret. So then you can go out into the world and share and have kids, people who haven’t seen it yet, people who have just seen it. You’re right. We’ve been closed for a few years and it seems like we’re getting used to it again. That’s all we do. That’s why we do it, man. So people come and bring their kids and hope they like the movies. I’m here drawing them and it’s so cool.
A Place to Laugh: What do you hope families watching the film this weekend take away from the film?
Jonas Rivera: I hope they understand that this is a love story. It’s a comedy. There are points about ethnicity and immigration. There’s this mix of all these things that are important to all the people who have done it. I always thought that when I was a kid and watching movies, I always wanted to go to the movies almost like a little vacation. That you want to take a souvenir home with you. These are things you remember.
When I was a kid I used to watch The Little Mermaid. It was the movie that made me go from loving animation to wanting to work in animation. I just hope, seeing some of these kids, that these kids fall in love with it so much. That not only do they love it, they actually want to do things.
A place to laugh: Look at these kids. They have to draw characters with the animation director of the film.
Jonas Rivera: That’s pretty cool, right?
The Elementary eexperience will be open Friday and Saturday until 9:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo. Elementary now playing in theaters.