Pixar's 'Elemental' Footage Sends Clear Message About Discrimination

Newly-unveiled footage from the latest at Disney/Pixar Studios was just screened at this year’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, giving audiences a first glimpse at what they can expect to see in director Peter Sohn’s Elemental.

Pixar is returning to the big screen with a brand new animated feature film, and so far, first reactions have been generally positive.

Starring Leah Lewis as Ember, Mamoudou Athie as Wade, Ronnie del Carmen as Bernie, Shila Ommi as Cinder, and Catherine O’Hara as Brook, the film takes place in Element City, a place where anthropomorphic fire, water, land, and air residents live together—to varying degrees of success.

Check out the official trailer for Disney and Pixar’s Elemental below:

Despite all odds, Ember, a hardworking, fiery young woman, establishes an unlikely friendship with Wade, a “go-with-the-flow” kind of guy who encourages Ember to challenge her beliefs in a world where “elements don’t mix.”

Because of their varying characteristics, different elements have a hard time interacting with each other. For example, if a water element sneezed on a land resident, they’d begin blooming flowers. And the consequences would be dire if a water elemental touched someone made of fire. 

The first 20 minutes of Elemental were screened in 3D at CinemaCon, giving attendees a closer look at its central conflict and characters. Based on viewers’ synopses of the footage, it seems like the movie isn’t shying away from tackling themes of racism and xenophobia head-on. 

A culture clash takes center stage in Elemental‘s story, as exemplified by the uneasy relationship between Ember and Wade. However, the film reportedly opens with a different conflict, showing a younger version of Ember’s parents immigrating to Element City after being rejected from settling elsewhere (via Deadline). Arriving by ship, the scene is reportedly reminiscent of the thousands of migrants who were processed at Ellis Island after landing in the United States.

The couple makes a life for themselves with baby Ember and opens a shop known as “The Fireplace” in the part of the city populated by fire residents, all while doing their best to avoid water elementals.

Fast forward years later, and Ember has grown up, essentially in charge of running her family’s business. After a pipe bursts at the shop, Ember stumbles across Wade, an inspector who threatens to shutter the store for its faulty piping.

However, Wade takes pity on her and attempts to help Ember find his boss so that she can personally protest the violations Wade was forced to file against her shop.

We’ve already gotten looks at Elemental City’s colorful, textured world in previously-released promo images, but it’s exciting to learn more about the actual meat of the story. In typical Pixar fashion, it seems like togetherness, acceptance, and unity will all serve as core themes of the film, meaning audiences are almost certainly in for a fun, and maybe even tear-jerking adventure through this rich universe.

Fans can look forward to seeing Pixar’s Elemental in theaters on June 16.

Will you be seeing Elemental on the big screen when it premieres this summer? Share your thoughts in the comments below.