March 29th, 2023 
Jackson Murphy 
Earlier this week I visited Pixar for the first time. It was an “incredible” experience, especially getting to see four scenes from the studio’s upcoming feature Elemental, which opens in theaters on June 16th. I also interviewed director Pete Sohn (The Good Dinosaur) and producer Denise Ream (Cars 2) about this rom-com based on the real elements and their real characteristics. Are fire girl Ember and water boy Wade truly made for each other? In this Animation Scoop Q&A, Sohn and Ream discuss the depths of the story, the talented cast and the film’s admired composer — and we take a brief trip down Pixar Memory Lane. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: When I saw “The Good Dinosaur” when it came out, I thought, “This is some of the most realistic animation I’ve ever seen.”
Pete Sohn: Yeah. Right on.
JM: Just incredible. [In our press presentation] You mentioned your love of the Periodic Table of Elements. Do you remember the childhood you in science class, and what would he think about all of this now, with movies about Earth and the ground and now all these elements?
PS: Oh yeah. Science for me… I wasn’t great at all the sciences, but the visual-based world of chemistry and geology… there was so much fascination with all of that. But would that teacher be proud of this? I sure hope so because we put a lot of research into it. There are moments that are just funny — movie logic stuff that we had to just cheat for some of it to work. But there are so many places that are geared into it. There’s a moment with light being refracted through one of our characters… I was cheating and going, “We just need to make it work for the movie.” But then the animator’s like, “No no no. We can figure out a way to make it work!” There are so many smart people here that can go, “This is how it can work.” But we fudge some places, and I’m sure my teacher would be like, “I’ll let that pass!” But there was a lot of love in there for sure.
JM: (laughs) Good. I’m sure all your teachers have to be proud of everything you’ve accomplished, including putting seven years of your life into this movie. And Denise, you’ve been a part of “The Good Dinosaur” and “Cars 2” [as a producer]. You have these dynamic duos — McQueen and Mater, Arlo and Spot and now Wade and Ember.
Denise Ream: Oh yeah.
JM: What do you think about these dynamic duos… these pairings and how they’ve been central to the movies you’ve worked on here?
DR: Oh gosh. Well, it’s funny… I think of, with our movie, the triangle: Ember and her parents and Wade. It’s all about entertaining our audience and each of these characters and their journey of self-discovery. It was really fun developing Ember and Wade and discovering Leah [Lewis] and Mamdou [Athie] and how much they really infuse personality into the characters. Those actors are ultimately adding so much to making these dynamic duos that we all love.
JM: In the scene we saw, when Ember and Wade are on their various dates, I honestly thought, “This is new territory for Pixar in the way this is going.” Pete, do you feel that way about this scene and how kind of new and fresh this romance aspect is, especially in going after teens with this relatable storyline?
PS: Yeah. I mean, it’s been seven years. You think about a lot of different things when you’re coming-up with each thing. For me, I’m not thinking about the audience right away. There are early set-ups when you are, but then when you’re actually making the story, all you’re thinking about is, “How does this continue that growth of the characters?” For Ember and what she’s going through… when you were talking about the duos… I’m always thinking, “How do these duos fill each other up in terms of what the holes are in their lives and how do they fill them? Either learn from each other or teach someone something.” With these characters, I love thinking about their relationship in several layers, elementally and as humans.
For Ember and Wade in that sequence you’re talking about… Wade is a mirror character, in my brain. He’s reflecting who Ember is. Wade’s not really teaching Ember anything, but she’s being able to see herself in a new light. And at the same time, [we have] the layer of culture clash and the idea of not being able to touch. More than this [being] new territory, all I was thinking about was, “How do we sincerely feel those moments?” In looking through it globally, as you do in these moments when you show the reels, that’s when you start thinking about, “How would the general audience feel about these things?” So yeah, you go through the gamut of it. But hopefully this film was made to reach a universal audience. It’s the type of movie I loved as a kid. There was a lot of romance in the animated movies that I loved and tapping into that type of connection was from the beginning for sure.
JM: I love that you say Wade is a mirror for Ember because I think if we’re looking for partners or friends in life, we want that person to sort of be that for us. So that’s really nice that we get that out of these two.
PS: Yeah. Wade plays so many different things. The other thing that was so interesting about water was, “Could he possibly be a safe place for Ember, for fire?” There are all these layers I could go on about that were so fun to try to figure out. I didn’t want someone… There are always characters teaching other characters what to do. But for this one, them understanding the holes in their lives was basically the game.
JM: I love Thomas Newman’s score so far. Wow.
DR: I love the music so much. I already have favorite cues. I can’t wait for our Pixar family and our crew to [hear] it as well.
JM: One of my favorite movies is “Saving Mr. Banks”, and the way he took the “Mary Poppins” music (and that’s also one of my favorite movies ever) and adapted it to this other story while still bringing the cues back… that’s hard to do. And I bet for a movie like this that’s so detailed, there were a lot of challenges for him.
DR: And that’s what’s so impressive, I think. He knew the story inside and out, so when he and Pete were talking, [Thomas] was talking most often from a story perspective. I had never seen a composer do it to that extent. So it was all about the emotions of the characters and what was supporting the story. And then it’s beautiful on top of it. It’s a career highlight, honestly, having an opportunity to work with him.
PS: I absolutely agree. He’s so humble. You would think that a guy like that that’s had so much success and has done so much… he’s still this sensitive artist. He really is so humble.
JM: Let’s get him that Oscar, finally!
PS & DR: (laugh)
Peter Sohn, Jackson Murphy and Denise Ream
JM: What Mamadou Athie did in “Uncorked” was fantastic, and it’s about family — and this movie is so much about that. Could you tell he really responded to the family aspects of this story?
PS: When we first met, yes. When I first met him, I pitched him the idea. His family comes from Mauritania. He understood that world of first-generation and second-generation so much. He understood this idea of what it means to be compassionate and vulnerable to understand each other’s differences, in a poetic way. He was also recommending some of his favorite playwrights that would inspire. He would try to find the sincerity and moments where [Wade and Ember] could be really open. I think he was very, very connected to the project.
DR: I think so too. He was supportive and made himself available when he was busy. That’s always a sign of someone who’s connected and interested and cares. I think we really lucked out.
PS: He’s a great guy, Jackson.
JM: Nice. I could tell in the [sports] scene, how much enthusiasm Wendi McClendon-Covey has for her character of Gale.
PS: She was hilarious. I absolutely loved working with her. She was on fire.
JM: She has a spirit about her, and that character seems like it needs that.
PS: Totally.
DR: Yeah. We picked her pretty early. You always wrestle with the casting, and she was on the easier scale.
PS: A joy to work with for sure.
JM: So Pete, you voiced Emile in “Ratatouille”.
PS: Yeah.
JM: That is such a great character in a phenomenal movie. What are your memories of voicing him? I can still hear him in you as you’re talking now, which is amazing!
DR: (laughs)
PS: Yeah! The memories were of the production — of how crazy it was at that time. Brad [Bird]’s version of this character said, “Hey, I need someone that’s a little more blue collar and street that loves to eat garbage. You’re perfect for it.”
DR: (laughs)
PS: And I just remember going, “Ha ha ha. Okay.” But then getting to spend time with Patton [Oswalt]. I just remember those times when we were doing press together and how much Brad’s casting style nailed the personalities. I went to a restaurant and was drinking with Patton, and he was breaking down these drinks at that same Remy level. And I was like, “I’ve never had any of this before.” My non-understanding of anything… I kept remarking, “Wow. Brad really knew what he was doing with the characters that he needed.” And it’s something I tried to find the same way in terms of searching for Mamadou and Leah — trying to find their hearts so they can reflect the characters vs. just putting on a character.
JM: Yeah the voices embody those characters so well. And I think Peter O’Toole is just [unbelievable] in “Ratatouille”.
PS: Oh yeah.
DR: That’s a good movie.
JM: So seven years…
DR: It’s a PhD!
PS: (laughs)
JM: Right! We’re almost sort of at the end of this part of the journey. When you think about that, what are a few words that come to your mind?
PS: I guess pride.
DR: Emotional. It’s very emotional to finish because we had such a great crew. That’s always bittersweet to see the team breaking up. But yeah, pride and what everyone accomplished. I can’t wait for people to go to the theater and see it. I can’t wait for my family to see it.
PS: There was terror too. There are parts when you’re scared because you don’t know what it’s gonna be.
DR: But right this minute we don’t feel terror. (laughs)
PS: I just don’t know what people are gonna think. I’m so proud of the film but at the same time…
DR: Yeah, that terror.
PS: But throughout it: “Can we do fire characters? I don’t know. We’re gonna try. Can we do this? Where’s the story at? I don’t know. The story’s still building.” You’re just building but you’re still moving ahead with hope and the belief in this potential of it. Knock on wood, man.
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