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00:00 I'm actually gonna start with you.
00:01 If you had to describe Ember in a sentence or three words,
00:05 what would they be?
00:06 - Ember is fierce, family-oriented,
00:12 hardworking, and loyal to herself
00:15 and all the people that she cares about.
00:16 - A lot more than three words.
00:18 - She said, "Or a sentence."
00:20 - Okay.
00:20 (laughing)
00:21 - Oh!
00:22 - I'm having the last bit.
00:24 - This is a joke.
00:25 - Absolutely.
00:26 - You only get three words, though.
00:27 - Yeah.
00:28 You know what?
00:28 That's a fair trade.
00:29 That's what I deserve, y'all.
00:31 - Yes, and so, Mamadou, for your three words,
00:34 or a sentence, or weight, what would they be?
00:37 - Emotional.
00:41 Open.
00:47 Warm.
00:50 - Those are great.
00:52 - We both had, "Mm."
00:52 - Those are great.
00:53 - It's nice to be warm.
00:54 - Yeah.
00:55 And Leah, I also wanted to know,
00:58 where would you say we as viewers find Ember
01:01 at the start of the film
01:03 versus where we are left with her by the end?
01:06 - Wow.
01:07 What a great question.
01:08 Like, Ember in the beginning of the film,
01:10 I think she's very much set in her routine.
01:12 She has her family, and that's all she really needs.
01:15 She has her community, and she even says that to Claude.
01:17 Like, it would take an act of God
01:19 to get me over to that bridge.
01:20 - Or an act of Claude.
01:21 - Yeah, I used to slap her.
01:22 (laughing)
01:23 - I could feel it.
01:25 But, you know, by the end of the film,
01:26 after being so closed off
01:28 and not very inviting to other elements,
01:31 you actually find that, I mean, throughout the whole film,
01:34 Wade really helps her, you know,
01:36 see water people in a different light,
01:38 and also other elements, too.
01:40 She really gets to see their strengths
01:41 and realize that, you know,
01:43 people are all kinda after the same thing.
01:45 They just wanna belong, and they wanna feel love.
01:47 And so she's pretty open by the end.
01:49 I mean, she has enough courage to even tell her father,
01:52 like, the big thing,
01:52 that she didn't wanna follow that path.
01:55 And that's huge, 'cause she was very scared
01:57 in the beginning of the film,
01:58 but I think it was very masked as defensiveness.
02:02 - Yeah, and Mamoudou, you know,
02:04 Wade is very emotionally intelligent, in my opinion.
02:08 - Yeah, he is.
02:09 - Yet, Ember is a bit opposite
02:10 when it comes to expressing her emotions.
02:12 In what ways will viewers discover
02:15 that love comes in all forms and fashion,
02:17 through elemental?
02:19 - Say that again.
02:20 - Yeah, in what, I'm sorry.
02:21 In what ways will viewers kinda
02:24 be able to see how
02:28 love is expressed differently?
02:30 Like, it's okay to express love in different ways.
02:33 - I mean, it's just one of those things where just,
02:38 when you see somebody that's so themselves,
02:41 it's just like, it just makes you so comfortable,
02:44 and it kinda makes you wanna do the same thing.
02:46 Not imitate that person being themself,
02:49 but like, just share yourself in your most authentic self,
02:52 because it really is, it's attractive.
02:56 It's a wonderful thing to see somebody just be open
02:59 and share who they are.
03:01 And I think that kind of love, that self-love,
03:03 can only attract that kind of genuine love
03:06 from other people, and it just kinda spreads that way.
03:09 - Yeah, that was great.
03:10 And lastly, for both of y'all, while this is--
03:14 - Every time, every time, I answer the question.
03:16 (laughing)
03:19 - And lastly, while this is such a beautiful love story,
03:22 it's also a story about what it means to be that firstborn
03:26 or that only child and the pressures that come with that.
03:29 So tell me, how did this story kinda mirror,
03:32 or was it art imitating life for you guys?
03:35 And we can start with you, Leah.
03:36 - I mean, in my case, my parents are not immigrants,
03:41 and I'm not a second-generation immigrant,
03:43 but they did adopt me from Shanghai, China,
03:47 and my life mirrored, I think,
03:51 Ember's parents' sacrifice in the way
03:53 that my parents gave up everything they possibly could
03:55 to help me fulfill my dream.
03:57 And that would've been absolutely crazy
03:58 if your little six-year-old or seven-year-old
04:00 was like, "This is my dream."
04:02 But they really believed in me,
04:03 and I do think that produced a sense of loyalty,
04:06 and not on their end, but for my own self,
04:08 a sense of expectation that, in the very end,
04:11 when I put so much pressure on myself,
04:12 my parents were like, "Why?
04:15 "We're just so happy that you're happy,
04:18 "and you don't need to live up to all these things
04:19 "that you think you need to be.
04:20 "You're just happy that you're you."
04:22 And that's kind of where Ember lands
04:24 at the end of the film, too, and like,
04:26 "God, I just love my parents."
04:28 But as we all struggle with growing up,
04:31 I definitely felt some of the growing pains
04:33 that she felt during this film, too,
04:34 when finding her own voice.
04:36 How about you?
04:37 - Aw, man, I just love that.
04:39 I don't even know, I was just,
04:41 oh, man, I wish I spoke to your parents more.
04:43 They seem so sweet as well.
04:44 - They were so jealous to meet you and your parents.
04:46 They were so happy.
04:47 - Yeah, I love that.
04:48 - But thank you.
04:49 - What was the question again?
04:51 - It was just, how is this art imitating life for you?
04:54 - Oh, right, oh my God.
04:56 Well, you know, it's funny, talking with Pete,
05:01 when I first met with Pete and just talking about the movie,
05:04 and we were talking about our experiences,
05:06 I came to the country when I was five months old,
05:08 I was a baby, and my parents really sacrificed
05:11 everything they had to just get over here
05:15 and start a new life.
05:16 And we share that same, I guess we all do,
05:22 share this debt of gratitude,
05:25 and that kind of, I remember Pete putting,
05:27 you feel like there's a debt that can never be fully repaid.
05:30 I feel that same way, but it's also not like a burden,
05:36 anymore, at least.
05:37 It's just like, my parents, your parents,
05:39 were at the premiere, and they--
05:40 - The debt of gratitude, that's a key thing.
05:43 - They were just so happy to see this beautiful thing
05:46 that we made as a result of also their efforts.
05:50 So we just kind of get to share in any successes
05:52 that we all have, so it's very cool.
05:55 - I love that, well, thanks y'all so much,
05:57 and I really love the film.
05:58 - Yeah, thank you. - Thank you.
05:59 - Pete, I'm actually gonna start with you,
06:01 because the dictionary defines elemental
06:04 as embodying the power of nature.
06:06 How does the film showcasing how having authority
06:09 over our emotions really allow that?
06:13 - I always took it as, for this film, for human nature,
06:17 in terms of how we connect,
06:19 and sort of the ingredients of all of that.
06:22 'Cause when we first started, these characters,
06:24 they were almost like superheroes,
06:25 throwing their water fire around,
06:28 but very soon, we discovered, like,
06:31 oh, they could also showcase emotions, the effects,
06:34 and so then it just started boiling down for that,
06:37 you know, the elemental, you know, the human,
06:40 the elements of our human nature.
06:42 - I love that, and Denise, while this is a love story
06:45 between Ember and Wade, it is also a story
06:47 about the pressures that come along
06:50 with being the firstborn or the only child.
06:53 Why was it important to highlight that in this film?
06:57 - I think it sort of started with, you know,
07:01 Pete's experience with his family,
07:03 and just realizing how much our parents sacrificed for us,
07:08 and how much we owe our family,
07:13 in terms of appreciating their sacrifices
07:16 and contributions to making our lives what they become.
07:21 - Absolutely, and at the end of the day,
07:24 this beautifully depicts the possibilities
07:26 that await us when we step outside of our comfort zone.
07:29 So tell me, how was bringing this story to life
07:32 a direct reflection of your personal journey?
07:36 - Yeah, when I was growing up, you know,
07:40 like we had a lot of pressure from our family
07:42 to marry within our culture, marry Korean.
07:44 My grandmother's dying words were like, "Marry Korean!"
07:47 And then she passed away.
07:48 And I fell in love with someone that wasn't,
07:51 and that created a lot of culture clash.
07:54 But slowly through that relationship,
07:56 even though there was a lot of sort of, you know,
08:00 misunderstandings and disconnections,
08:03 through love and really empathy,
08:05 that healed everything and sort of united,
08:07 and you know, my family now, we all love each other,
08:10 and it's all healed, but that was a big piece of it.
08:13 - Yeah, and what about the storyline
08:15 between Ember and Wade?
08:17 They both showcase love differently.
08:19 How do you hope that resonates with viewers?
08:22 - I think that hopefully they can identify
08:27 with the characters.
08:28 And I feel that we all,
08:33 that just, it's so, how important it is
08:35 to sort of open your heart to everyone around you.
08:39 Yeah.
08:41 - Yeah, and speaking of just opening your heart,
08:43 it really pulled on my heart strings,
08:46 because the film also touches on the immigrant experience.
08:50 So, specifically as it pertains to maintaining
08:53 all of those family customs that you touched on,
08:56 while still being open to others who may be different,
08:59 what was the reasoning behind like really painting
09:03 the full picture of that?
09:04 - Well, growing up, I grew up in New York,
09:09 and so much of it was, you know,
09:11 either trying to fit in or making, you know,
09:14 defining what your cultures were.
09:17 And growing up with that, you know,
09:22 at first I didn't really understand it,
09:23 but as, you know, I saw my parents interact,
09:25 could I see the real value of the richness
09:27 of that diversity and how it sort of really did
09:29 make us all better, that connection, you know,
09:31 made our community lives better, you know,
09:34 through food, through all the traditions,
09:35 it just made everything really rich and exciting.
09:39 And as cliche as that sounds,
09:43 it really moved my family forward
09:46 in so many different ways.
09:47 - Yeah, and Denise, like from beginning to now,
09:51 people are about to watch this film and really enjoy it.
09:54 What was the most exciting part of this journey for you?
09:58 - Wow, I mean, it's just, it's honestly just been
10:01 the entire journey from beginning to end.
10:04 What was exciting is getting a group of people together
10:07 that felt passionate about the project,
10:10 that there were a lot of people at Pixar
10:12 that personally connected to the story.
10:14 We have a lot of people at the studio
10:16 that have a similar background to Pete,
10:18 they're first or second generation immigrants.
10:20 So for me, that was what was most rewarding,
10:24 hearing their stories and then seeing those stories
10:27 that they're infused in the film.
10:29 And so that really does, is incredibly gratifying.
10:34 Yeah, it's been the most challenging thing I've ever done,
10:37 but also I would say the most gratifying,
10:40 the thing I'm most proud of having done.
10:42 - Yes, and how about you?
10:44 How do you feel?
10:45 - Yeah, the same.
10:46 I mean, like, you know,
10:47 this has been a love letter to our parents.
10:49 And so, you know, ever since this thing started,
10:52 it was all about trying to understand them more
10:54 and make those connections
10:55 and really appreciate all the sacrifices that they had made.
10:58 And as this film was going, I couldn't agree more.
11:01 Some of the stories that we got from our coworkers,
11:04 we tried to reflect in the film.
11:05 So anytime I watch the film now,
11:07 I'm always thinking of their stories
11:10 and how we all were really, really, you know,
11:13 sincerely trying to respect and honor all of that.
11:16 - Yes, well hats off to y'all.
11:18 It's an amazing story and I really enjoyed the film.
11:20 - Thank you.
11:21 - Thank you, Shanique.