Pixar have announced the title, release date, and a few enticing details of their next animated movie after Lightyear, which will be their 27th feature film. It’s called Elemental, and focuses on the burgeoning friendship between the fiery Ember and the watery Wade. It will be released in theatres on June 16, 2023.
After Pixar’s last three features – Soul, Luca, and Turning Red – all went straight to Disney Plus, the animation giant will release Toy Story spin-off Lightyear in theatres on June 17, 2022. The Good Dinosaur’s Peter Sohn is the director of Elemental, and it was inspired by his childhood in New York.
“My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 1970s and built a bustling grocery store in the Bronx,” said the director, via Deadline. “We were among many families who ventured to a new land with hopes and dreams—all of us mixing into one big salad bowl of cultures, languages and beautiful little neighborhoods. That’s what led me to Elemental.”
“Our story is based on the classic elements — fire, water, land and air,” the director added. “Some elements mix with each other, and some don’t. What if these elements were alive?” The story focuses on an unlikely pair – Ember and Wade – in a city where fire, water, land and air-residents live together. The fiery young woman and the go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental – how much they actually have in common.
After personifying the emotions in Inside Out – a film which many consider one of Pixar’s best – moving onto the elements seems like a natural step for the animation house, which famously likes to put us through the heart-wrenching wringer. We’re looking forward to finding out how water will reduce us all to puddles of tears!
While we wait for more details on Elemental, such as the voice cast, check out our guide to the best kids movies and the best family movies.