The team at Pixar has experience with a variety of characters, including – but not limited to – bugs, cars, toys, and skeletons. The four elements, however, took everyone outside of their comfort zones. “They were so difficult,” according to director Peter Sohn.
When creating the world of Pixar’s newest release, Elemental, Sohn couldn’t resist the tension he found when he began doodling fire and water. “I couldn’t get enough, so I knew right away that those would be our main characters for this film. But there were no roads at Pixar to make characters like this.”
The four classical elements of Earth, Wind, Air, and Fire gave the animators a rich playground
to create. “Each [element] has their own separate little community,” says producer Denise Ream. “It’s a joy to discover. I find something new every single time I watch the movie.”
Creating the personality for the inhabitants of each community started with a few basic ideas. “They’re passionate. They have a creative spark. They’re luminous,” Sohn says of Fire. “And for Water, they’re transparent. They go with the flow.”
Once they had honed in on the personality of the characters, it was time to focus on the task of animation. “It was creating the two characters from nothing,” according to Ream. “We were excited at the challenge, but it was a daunting prospect.” They began with the fiery character of Ember and built her world around her. They quickly discovered, however, that Fire was easy when compared to Water.
“The average Pixar character has about 4,000 controls,” agrees Sohn. “Both Ember and Wade [her watery counterpart] were close to double that to 10,000.” As the animators layered on effects, they layered on the challenges as well. “For example, you can’t shadow fire, so already, there would be issues per scene, per shot where you were just trying to make sure that the eye was going in the right direction. How busy is the fire? Can we read her face, the landscape of those emotions?”
While Fire would remain essentially the same in every shot, Water required some extra effort to always look like water. “If you slowed down the bubbles, all of a sudden, Water would look like Jello. If you remove the highlights, Water would look like a ghost,” according to Sohn. “Every shot was about control and a challenge.”
While creating the elements in Elemental didn’t come easy, the filmmakers are proud of what they accomplished. “The film represents so much hard work and talent,” says Ream. “So just go enjoy it.”
You can watch Elemental in theaters now.