Peter Sohn’s very personal tale of family, love and finding your place in the world is showing remarkable staying power. “Elemental” has been in theaters for over a month and this charming tale has experienced almost no box office decline since its opening weekend. This is a feat almost unheard of with big releases, where the ticket earnings commonly nosedive after the first weekend.
Having surpassed the box offices of “Lightyear” ($226M) and “Encanto” ($257M), the remarkable proceeds (currently at $315M) of “Elemental” have crushed the initial disappointment of its soft start. It is now on track to end its theatrical run in the $400-500 million range.
“Elemental” is Sohn’s second turn in the director’s chair for Pixar. (His directorial debut was “The Good Dinosaur.”) But this is the story that could not have been told by anyone else. Inspired by his parents’ livelihood, his own marriage and even his grandmother’s last words, “Elemental” has heart to spare.
In broad strokes, the film is both a love story and an immigrant tale of newcomers creating their own community when the establishment makes no effort to accommodate them. The twist in this world is that the citizenry is all comprised of one of the elements: fire, water, earth or air. And the couple featured, Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) and Wade Ripple (Mamadou Athie), are opposites in every way.
“Elemental”, by Pixar, 2023
Like the Lumens, Sohn’s Korean immigrant parents ran a small grocery in the Bronx. In fact, it was his mother’s love of movies that sparked Sohn’s interest in animation. He recalls that he translated movies for her because she spoke very little English. But his services were not needed when they saw “Dumbo” together. There was something magical and transcendent about the medium that made Sohn want to make animation his life’s work.
His father may not have shared his family’s passion for cinema but he was the one who encouraged Sohn to pursue animation, in a very Korean way. In a recent interview Sohn said he’ll never forget when an animator came to his family’s store one day, his father grilled the artist about his livelihood, “How much money do you make? What’s your salary?” Upon hearing the answers, Sohn’s father gave his son his blessing.
Sohn has been with Pixar since 2000, working on classics such as “Up,” “The Incredibles,” and “Finding Nemo.” In 2015 he directed “The Good Dinosaur.”
The fact that Russell from “Up” was modeled, both physically and temperamentally, after Sohn is a fun fact that often makes its way into interviews. Less talked about is that characteristics for both Ember and Wade are also liberally borrowed from Sohn.
Director Peter Sohn, center, at a scoring session for the film “Elemental” at Fox Studios on March 1, 2023 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)
“I’m like, ‘oh, wait. Is Peter Ember? Yeah, he is. Oh no, he’s also Wade’,” said Pete Doctor, one of the head honchos at Pixar. “He’s so gregarious, no filter, and he’ll just tell you how he feels… The movie feels like being with Pete… He is insanely talented… There are a lot of people who are super talented but it’s like a tax working with them because of their personality or whatever. Pete is just out to make people laugh and to find the joy in situations.”
Like Ember and Wade, Sohn and his wife, Anna Chambers (who is Caucasian), come from very different backgrounds. The couple, who have two children, met at the California Institute of the Arts. Sohn says it took some time for his parents to come around to the union. And his grandmother’s last words to her grandsons (Sohn and his brother) actually were, “Marry Korean.”
Unfortunately, both of Sohn’s parents passed away during the seven-year making of “Elemental.” And Sohn admits that his grief started to darken the tone of the film.
“The xenophobia aspect had become a loud piece in the movie, but in honoring my parents, it felt like the wrong thing,” says Sohn. “The intent was to make something hopeful that focuses on something anyone can connect to, which is gratitude toward those people who sacrifice for you.”
“Elemental” is still going strong in theaters nationwide.
