Pixar’s latest film, Elemental, is a major achievement. In true Pixar fashion, the story includes an emotional tale about the relationships between lovable characters and hidden truths about real life. Elemental shows a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live in harmony. A fire resident and a water resident meet and form a connection, and throughout the film, they explore what they have in common. Critics are saying wonderful things about Elemental, and it may just be an instant animated classic. Many ideas were thrown around when making the movie, which included featuring a villain named Drip, according to the director.
Director Peter Sohn and producer Denise Ream recently sat down with CinemaBlend to discuss the latest animated film by Disney. During the chat, the duo explained that there were quite a few different ideas in the original conception of the film, and different characters the animators discussed. One of these characters was Drip, a villain in the Elemental universe. Drip was eventually cut out of the final product, and Sohn explained his reason for the removal, saying to us:
This film took so many different versions, you know? We had a villain named Drip, who was trying to take over the city. And when we showed that version everyone was like ‘Oh we miss the connection between fire and water.
The adorable connection between fire resident Ember and water resident Wade is the core of this film, so it makes sense why the director thought the villain was drawing attention away from what the movie was truly about. Without this villain, the filmmakers could spend more time fleshing out the relationship and deepening the audience’s care for the central storyline. Going through the motions of developing different ideas and characters is a big part of finding the best story possible, and I’m glad they landed on the version they did.
This was a very personal story for Sohn, who based many parts of it on his family’s story from when they immigrated from Korea. When a story is so personal, there is even a deeper incentive to getting it right. After settling on a story about the elements, the Pixar director had his own concerns about the possibilities of animation and getting the character design right. Based on the trailers and early reactions, the animation team did a fantastic job, with the characters perfectly capturing the elements. Admittedly though, I am interested in what Drip looked like.
While going through the development process can be tedious, it’s all part of the fun in finding the story the filmmakers want to tell. Sohn is no stranger to this, as he has been with Pixar since the early 2000s, working on classics like Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles. Elemental is the second film Sohn has directed for Disney, previously helming 2015’s The Good Dinosaur. With another heartfelt and stunning film in the books, I can’t wait to see what Sohn and the rest of the Pixar team does next.
Elemental is now in theaters nationwide, so make sure to see it on the big screen while you can. Peter Sohn’s previous directorial feat, The Good Dinosaur, is also available now with a Disney+ subscription for animation fans wanting to check it out. For more information on other projects coming soon from Disney, make sure to consult our feature on upcoming Disney films.
