The perfect cast for Pixar’s Elemental had to be smoky and sparky

How would water and fire sound if they were to talk? Peter Sohn, director of Pixar’s upcoming movie ElementalThen he had to figure out what vocal style would bring his character to life.

“When I first designed these things, I was drawing, like, a campfire and a bucket of water,” he tells Polygon. “Then they became characters, and it was like, Water would then be cooler and fire would be more smoky..”

The movie’s main characters — the fiery Ember and the watery Wade — needed actors whose voices could fit these expectations, while bringing more nuance to the baseline descriptions. The Elemental Leah Lewis ended up being cast as Ember. Jurassic World Dominion’s Mamoudou Athie as Wade. It was Lewis’ performance in Half of ItThat really ignited for Sohn.

“She performed on all these levels that were really interesting, where she could be hot-tempered, but still very appealing,” explains Sohn. “She had a vulnerability in her voice that also she could straddle with being so sincere and authentic. It was always the same smoky-voiced voice. There were some moments in that film where she was talking to her father, and it was so tender, but at the same time, she could have a force behind it that I thought was perfect.”

Image: Pixar

As for casting Wade, it boiled down to one big thing: “When we first started the character, I was always drawing him crying,” laughs Sohn.

Athie’s role as a cryer impressed Sohn. Oh Jerome!. His character has an emotional breakdown in the miniseries.

“He did this cry that was so sincere, but hilarious,” says Sohn. “We had done some scratch recording for our reels, and the amount of crying that Wade does, it can get so painful. But Mamoudou has such a compassionate soul that when he was crying, you just went with him in it.”

Elemental On June 16, the film will hit theaters. Now you can order tickets in advance.