The 27th Pixar movie, which follows hot on the heels of the Disney subsidiary's two 2022 releases – Tig Ntsia Liab thiab Ntsha – is set to arrive in theaters on June 16. It's high time, then, that we were given a better idea of what its plot will be.
Luckily, Pixar as duly obliged, releasing an official trailer for Elemental – one of our most eagerly anticipated new movies of 2023 – that not only provides some new details about its story, but also gives us another look at the film's jaw-dropping visuals. Check it out below:
Honestly, we can't stop watching the satisfying fluidity of Wade's water-y make-up or the constantly burning, fiery aesthetic of Ember's design. It's a seriously impressive feat to get these contrasting visuals to operate in the same VFX engine and look as beautifully natural as they do. Anybody else expecting Elemental to be a shoe-in for a Best Animated Feature nomination at the 2024 Oscars?
As for the movie's story, it seems it'll center on a platonic or romantic relationship between the fire-based Ember and water-styled Wade. Right now, we only have a simple plot synopsis, courtesy of Pixar, to go on, which reads: “In a city where fire, water, land and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common”. This new trailer, then, reveals how Ember and Wade's worlds collide and thematically explores the notion of how opposing races and forces can co-exist. A noteworthy message for our times, eh?
Elemental will star Leah Lewis (Dab Ntxaug , Ib nrab ntawm Nws ) as Ember and Jurassic Ntiaj Teb: Ncaws ‘s Mamoudou Athie as Wade. Newcomer Mason Wertheimer has been cast as Clod, a young, street smart Earth-based character, while Wendie McLendon-Covey (Rov 911! ) will portray Gale, an air-based individual. Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek) voices Wade's mom Brook.
Pixar's latest feature film has been directed by veteran employee Peter Sohn, whose only other directing credit came on 2016's Qhov Zoo ໄດ ໂນ ເສົາ . Sohn has voiced numerous characters in the Pixar-Verse, though, including Sox in Ntsha , as well as executively producing, writing, animating, and acting as a story consultant on many other Pixar flicks. John Hoberg and Kat Likkel (Kuv Lub Npe Yog Earl , Dub-ish ) are joined by Brena Hsueh (Kuv Ua Raws Li Koj Niam ) as the film's main writers.
Analysis: a summer filled with hot animated offerings
Kab laug sab-txiv neej: Hla Kab laug sab-Verse will push the animation boundaries later this year, too (Cov duab credit: Sony Pictures)
With the animation genre proving to be a popular medium for audiences and creators alike in 2022 – Tig Ntsia Liab , Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio , Thiab Puss in Boots: Lub Siab Xav Kawg were all stunningly gorgeous films – it seems that 2023 is set to follow in its predecessor's footsteps.
Given its penchant for breaking ground in the animation space, Pixar is helping to lead the pack with Elemental . However, the film isn't the only new release from the studio that's set to wow cinephiles with its visually arresting animation style, hues, cityscape backgrounds, and technological innovations.
Kab laug sab-txiv neej: Hla Kab laug sab-Verse , the follow-up to 2019's Rau hauv kab laug sab-kab lus , is also set to disrupt the animation medium with its own revolutionary art style and eye-popping colors – and it'll arrive just two weeks before Elemental on June 2, meaning the sixth month of 2023 will be an animated showdown for the ages.
Muab pov rau hauv Tus Super Mario Bros. Movie – the joint Universal, Nintendo, and Illumination animated flick based on Nintendo's legendary video game series – as well as Paramount's visually striking Teenage Mutant Ninja vaub: Mutant Mayhem movie and Netflix's stop-motion animated sequel Chicken Run: Kaj ntug ntawm Nugget , and this year could be the one where animated movies are taken far more seriously than before. Let's hope the Academy and other film award organizations take note.
For more Pixar-based content, read up on why Pixar's chief creative officer thinks Ntsha flopped at the box office. Alternatively, find out which Pixar films made it onto our best family movies and best Disney Plus movies lists.
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