While Elemental, the new Disney Pixar film is preparing to arrive in Cannes, the director explains the origins of the film
Il Cannes Film Festival has already kicked off with many guests and films of all kinds, which will alternate until May 27th. One of the films in the program has already piqued the interest of young and old, it is about Elementalthe new Disney Pixar animated feature film, which will have the honor of being, out of competition, the closing movie of the event. Directed by peter sonElemental will hit theaters on June 21st.
Plot and cast | Elemental: the Disney Pixar animated film lands in Cannes
The story takes place in Element City, where the inhabitants live in harmony with each other, each in its element of origin: water, fire, air and earth. The lively and fearless Embera fiery girl and the funny and sentimental Wade, a water boy, they become friends, even if the nature of the two would see them as opposites. In fact, the two cannot touch each other due to the risk of hurting each other, but despite this they will soon discover that they are more similar than they expected.
The cast sees among the protagonists Leah Lewis (Man) e Mamoudou Athie (Wade). Alongside them too Ronnie Del Carmen (Bernie, Ember’s father), Shila Ommi (Cinder, Ember’s mom) e Catherine O’Hara (Brook, Wade’s mom). But also Wendi McLendon-Covey (Gale), Mason Wertheimer (Clod, Ember’s land neighbor) e joe pear (Fern). In the Italian version the two protagonists will be voiced by Valentina Romanithe famous Naditza di Mare Fuori e Stephen DeMartino. Elemental’s script is written by Brenda Hsuehalready known for Red (2022), John Hoberg e Kat Likkel, celebri per la serie My Name Is Earl. Thomas Newman he dealt with music instead; the author had already collaborated with Pixar, in other extraordinarily successful films, such as Finding Nemo (2003), WALL-E (2008) and Finding Dory (2016).
The Origins of Elemental | Elemental: the Disney Pixar animated film lands in Cannes
As he clarified peter sonthe story of Elemental is inspired by his childhood. The director, the son of Korean immigrants in New York, explained that his youth took place in a whirlwind of different cultures that mixed together, just as happens in his feature film. The film can be understood as a kind of great celebration of diversity. Here are his words:
My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 70’s and built a bustling grocery store in the Bronx. We were among many families who ventured to a new land with hopes and dreams, all of us mixed in one big salad of cultures, languages and beautiful little neighborhoods. This is what brought me to Elemental.
Living in a place far from the original culture of the parents has allowed to recreate a varied context for the storyin which different elements of water, fire, earth and air coexist, while the director’s personal story allowed us to get to the heart of the events narrated, through the creation of the two main characters, two opposites that attract each other. The same happened to Sohn and his wife:
This film is a useful way to understand the sacrifices of my parents. I always took for granted the stories they told me about their journey, until one day I thought that they did it without speaking the local language and without money. I could never do that. My empathy for them grew enormously at that point. I married a non-Korean person and there was a lot of culture clash in my world over this choice . This led me to idea of bringing together two opposites. Hence the question arose: what would have happened if fire had fallen in love with water?
Elemental a Cannes
Elemental isn’t the only Disney Pixar animated feature to make it to the Cannes Film Festival, in recent years, the same fate had befallen animation masterpieces such as Up (2009) and Inside Out (2015). Even the exciting Soul (2020) had been chosen to be presented in the Official Section, but unfortunately, the event did not take place that year. He spoke about the participation of Elemental Pete Docterchief creative officer of Pixar, who wanted to underline the importance of participating in this event:
As we all emerge from our pandemic cocoons and gather in story rooms, animation dailies and impromptu brainstorming sessions, it is a joy and an honor to have Pixar back on the Croisette. Directed by extraordinary storyteller Peter Sohn, Elemental is fun, full of heart, and quite frankly, jaw-dropping to behold. It was created to be seen by the public on the big screen and I like the idea that it will have its world premiere in Cannes.
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