Pixar’s most recent movie, Elemental, initially reminded me of my childhood favorite Shark boy and Lava girl from its illustrations.

Elemental is a movie about appreciating sacrifice while finding the courage to stand on your own.

Element City is inhabited by residents of anthropomorphic elements: water, fire, earth, or air. Ember grew up under first generation immigrant parents who left Fire Land and their family to create a better life and future in Element City. On the other hand, Wade grew up in Element City his whole life with a big water family who are much more laid back and expressive than Ember’s family. The film follows an unlikely pair of fire (Ember) and water (Wade). The journey through accepting each other’s differences, family, and strengths help the two combustible elements eventually come together.

Elemental is a personal story as much as it is a fictional animation. The creator, Peter Sohn, grew up under Korean immigrant parents in New York.

Sohn saw the periodic table during a middle school chemistry class as elements inhabiting in different elemental family towns. The inspiration Sohn took from his Korean heritage is scattered throughout the movie. For example, Fireplace, the shop run by Ember’s family is supposed to model one of Korea’s traditional stove pots. In one scene, Bernie tests Wade’s “food inspector” credentials by asking him to eat Fire Meatballs. Wade has an extremely hard time as he tries swallow down the Fire Meatballs that makes his body boil..literally. This scene was inspired by Korean culture where the son in-law is to prove his strength by outdrinking the daughter’s father or to test their tolerance to spicy food.

The film reinforces the quote “the most personal is most creative”, a Martin Scorcese quote invoked by Bong Joon Ho in his Academy Award acceptance speech for Parasite. Knowing the personal inspiration behind the film’s creator, Peter Sohn, the small details towards his cultural heritage makes Elemental a love letter from director Sohn to his parents.

We love Pixar movies for how they breathe life into animations to deliver life’s most important lessons to its audience. The particular warmth and originality in Pixar movies continue to highlight the best in humanity.