Los Angeles (USA), Mar 31 (EFE).- Pixar finalizes the last details before the launch of “Elemental”, a film scheduled for June 16 and which, according to the study, is the “technologically most ambitious” of its entire history.
A preview of the film, structured by the endearing story between a flame of fire and a drop of water, was revealed this week at the Pixar offices in San Francisco (California, USA) to a small group of international media, including those who were EFE.
The American Peter Sohn, who has been linked to the iconic studio for more than two decades in which he has participated in films such as “Ratatouille” (2007), “Up” (2009) or “Lightyear” (2022), directs this film that combines a story loaded with values and an innovative visual bet.
“We tried to find the balance between a good story and an attractive way to make it appear on screen. We seek to compensate the best of digital animation with human traits that identify the characters,” Sohn explained in an interview with EFE.
Up to 151,000 render farms were needed to process all the digital content behind “Elemental,” which required a complex creation process mainly because the protagonists are special effects themselves.
Animation composed of drawings, colors, textures, transparencies and computer generated images (CGI, in English) that merge, alter and transform each time Ember Lumen (fire) and Wade (water) interact with each other or with an environment formed as well by two other elements of nature: earth and air.
Likewise, the care behind every detail in the streets, buildings or shops of Element City, as the city where the plot takes place was baptized, reflects a meticulous work that still has the last fringes to complete.
Regarding the story, Sohn explained that it is “very influenced” by his personal experience, when dealing with issues such as the migratory process of a family and its subsequent adaptation, since his parents are of Korean origin and moved decades ago to NY.
Another of the readings offered by “Elemental”, a film that also makes use of a wide variety of gags, is that of overcoming stereotypes and how Ember’s family manages to gain a foothold in an unknown place, despite the fact that at beginning they were considered as “strange” by the rest of the inhabitants.
However, although all the interpretations are “lawful and credible”, according to its director, most of the professionals who worked on the project agreed that it constitutes a way of understanding that “the importance of life is in the little things”.
“What would happen if all the elements that surround us had a life of their own?” Sohn wondered, who began to notice this during the worst moments of the covid-19 crisis.
“The pandemic was a curse and a blessing. I didn’t like being disconnected from the outside world, but at the same time it helped me to work on the film because I felt that this was my safe place,” said the filmmaker.
Chinese performer Leah Lewis (“The Half of It”) provides the voice of Ember Lumen, while Mamoudou Athie (“Jurassic World: Dominion”) does the same for Wade.
Also involved in “Elemental” were, among others, Don Shank as production designer; Sanjay Bakshi acting as special effects supervisor; as well as Gwen Enderoglu and Allison Ruttland as cheer team managers.
After the lack of success of its latest productions, such as “Turning Red” last year, Pixar has decided to take animation one step further, allocating significant resources to this film that comes at a sweet time for this genre after the “boom” of ” Pinocchio”, directed by the Mexican Guillermo del Toro.
