Voice actor Kai Ava Hauser will voice Pixar’s first explicitly non-binary character in the forthcoming film Elemental.
Out now in the US, and released next month in the UK, Elemental is set in a world where the elements of nature – earth, air, fire and water – are anthropomorphised.
One of the minor characters to feature in the film is Lake Ripple, a water-based character, whom Hauser confirmed on social media is non-binary.
“BIG ANNOUNCEMENT,” they wrote on Twitter. “I got to play Pixar’s first nonbinary character!
“Meet Lake! I voice Lake in the new movie #Elemental! I’m seeing it in theaters tonight with my friends, so you can catch it in theaters too if you wanna see them.”
Pixar, and its parent organisation Disney, has been criticised in the past for a lack of LGBT+ representation.
Directed by Peter Sohn, Elemental follows the story of Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a water character, and Ember (Leah Lewis), a fire character.
The film tackles themes such as xenophobia and intercultural differences.
Offering further behind-the-scenes detail on their role, Hauser tweeted: “ALSO AYE I RECORDED THIS OUT OF MY MINNESOTAN HOME STUDIO. REMOTE TALENT BOYS!”
Pixar is best known for creating such children’s films as Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, Wall-E, and Up.
When a trailer for Elemental was first released last year, fans drew comparisons between the movie’s premise and that of the 2016 Disney animation Zootropolis (released in the US as Zootopia).
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Zootropolis is set in a city where anthropomorphic animals coexist, and centres on an unlikely friendship between a plucky police officer rabbit and a streetwise con artist fox.
Noting the similarities, fans initially branded Elemental “Zootopia, but with elements”.
“I love Pixar but isn’t this just Zootopia,” one person wrote, while someone else commented: “World building looks too similar to Zootopia.”
Another person remarked: “Ngl Elemental looks like an element version of Zootopia so far.”
For The Independent’s full ranking of Pixar films, click here.
Elemental is released in UK cinemas on 6 July. The film is available to watch in US cinemas now.
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