New Pixar Elementary hits theaters: ‘We’ve never had characters like this’

Once upon a time there was a meeting between Flemmi, a bold young woman with a fiery temper, and Flack, a sympathetic and sentimental boy with a (very) easy tear. In Elementary, the new animated feature from Pixar Studios, opposites attract, as the old saying goes…

Behind this impossible novel lies a very personal story, directed by Peter Sohn, revealed in the short films Passages Nuageux and the feature film Le Voyage d’Arlo. But also the most ambitious and complex production ever undertaken by the studio behind Buzz, Woody, Nemo, Ratatouille and WALL-E.

Ahead of the film’s French release, just weeks after its closing screening at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, the filmmaker and his producer Denis Reim answered questions from AlloCiné. Welcome to Element City!

AlloCiné: Elementary is a story of elements, fire, water… but it’s primarily your story and a very personal film, isn’t it?

Peter Sohn (Director) : Everything was born from a very personal event and experience. After my previous film, I was invited to a ceremony in New York and thanked my parents there.

I went on stage, I saw it and I burst into tears. I didn’t know why… it was to see them in this ceremony among all these people, in this ceremony among people of immigrant background, and I could thank them.

I said : “Mom, Dad, thank you so much for all the sacrifices you’ve made for me and my brother. We wouldn’t be here without you.”. And I remember someone in the crowd shouting: “Yes, you are right to thank your parents!” It was a very exciting moment.

When I got back to Pixar, I told the story and they said: “Peter, this is your next project. You should make a movie out of it.”.

From there came this idea of ​​fire and water meeting, which is fueled by my personal experience, because I married not a Korean but an Italian-American, which caused a lot of tension in my family.

The story started from there, which is also fed by other Pixar artists who brought their own experiences to our narrative as the film grew. Taking it to places we didn’t expect. Thanks to them, the film never got cut and we are very grateful to them.

Denise Remy (Producer) : Yes, a lot of first and second generation immigrants worked on the film. Pixar brings together talent from all over the world and many people love this story and project.

The film closes the Cannes Film Festival. I imagine this is a time when you think a lot about your parents? (Editor’s note: The interview took place on the Croisette the day before the film’s presentation)

Peter Sohn (Director) : You want to make me cry, don’t you? (Laughs) Yes, it’s a very emotional moment for me. My parents are no longer with us, and a large part of this film is an attempt to honor them.

And more broadly, respect all parents. The main thing is not that we are respected, but that they are respected. So I basically want to shout out everything our parents did for us. And how grateful I am. I could never thank them enough.

So it’s a great honor to be in Cannes. When we look at the history of French cinema… the history of cinema itself, because it was born here! Writing our film in the history of Cannes, in the history of France, just… just seeing the Palm in the credits of our film is incredible.

Denise Remy (producer) : Yes, very exciting. Our film will carry this palm forever… We love cinema and cinema on the big screen. We shot this movie on the big screen. My grandfather worked in cinema and he would be so proud if his grandson was invited to Cannes with a film. It’s amazing.

Beyond the emotion and these very personal stories, from a technical standpoint, “Elementary” was a real challenge. Are we talking about Pixar’s most ambitious and complex film and seven years in the making?

Denise Remy (producer) : Each shot has effects because our characters are based on simulated effects. So that was a big challenge. Creating the characters itself was difficult and time-consuming because we couldn’t do it with sketches or illustrations.

These characters are unlike anything we’ve done before because they’re constantly moving. They should evoke fire and water, but also convey fun and emotion.

So it took him many months of research. And to be honest, we didn’t know until the end of 2022 that we would get there. I was really nervous! It was tense until the end. It was slow.

Right, let’s talk about the creation of your hero, Flem. It’s a mix of 3D and 2D animation, a fairly new style at Pixar…

Peter Sohn (Director) : The goal was to find the right balance between realistic fire and illustrated fire. Today we know how to generate virtual fire very easily. Pressing a button is almost enough and you have fire.

But when we added the 3D flame eyes, the character was truly terrifying! Conversely, when we saw concepts in 2D, it didn’t look like fire: he was a fun character, but he was flat and didn’t look like he could burn anything. Therefore, it was necessary to find a balance between these two approaches.

And to find that balance, there wasn’t much guidance. It’s impossible to rely on another film, it’s impossible to see how others have done it. So it was exciting because we were working on something that had never been done before. But at the same time, there was no pre-existing process, no production line, on which to build these images.

Denise Remy (producer) : Peter always wanted the result to be part of the sophistication of 3D. It had to be attractive, but we also wanted the texture and vibration you get with 3D graphics. We’ve worked with a great group of imaging researchers, a lot of brilliant people who have helped us get there.

Peter Sohn (Director) : We relied on a new technology that took a moving three-dimensional object and then controlled it. It’s crazy technology that really helped us achieve that balance.

Denise Remy (producer) : Besides, at first we didn’t think to use it on all the characters, but only on Flem.

Was Flak’s character made of water difficult too?

Denise Remy (producer) : Working on water was even more difficult! Flake consists of reflections: it reflects and refracts. And in every scene he looks different because you can see his background. It was really difficult. Especially since the character underwent a late design change. I really “sweated”, so to speak. Sometimes I couldn’t believe what we were doing…

Peter Sohn (Director) : Interestingly, if you freeze frames on Flam and Flack, they look weird. There seems to be something wrong with the still image. Only when they move are their designs complete.

We have never had such characters. Most of the Pixar characters, like Buzz, you can stop and they’re great. It’s different with our characters: because the flame moves and if you take a break, something always disappears. They are only beautiful in motion. And that was the challenge.

Denise Remy (producer) : Finally, I have to say that I never get tired of watching the characters. And this is quite unusual. Usually, after the movie is over, we want to move on. I want to see it there and see it again. We worked! (laughs)

If we had to finally sum up the heart of “Primary”, what would it be?

in the heart elementary, there is a representation of two very different characters, from different cultures, who eventually find each other and meet each other. how do they get there Compassion and compassion, two central values ​​that drive our film. I really hope that a little compassion really brings people together. And I hope the audience will think the same after watching our film.

Interview by Ioan Sardet at the Cannes Film Festival, May 26, 2023