While Sohn also revealed he wasn't particularly strong in science but he found inspiration in the periodic table
Filmmaker Peter Sohn's latest Pixar animated feature, Elemental, holds a personal significance for him, the director revealed.
Elemental which portrays fire, water, land, and air as residents of Elemental City, where Ember, a fiery young woman, meets Wade, a water being, and realizes they have much in common despite their conflicts - reflects Sohn's parents' immigration story from Korea to New York.
Sohn, as a first-generation immigrant himself, drew inspiration
from his own experiences and those of the animators and storytellers
involved in the film. The director also added the film acted as closure for
him because he lost his parents during the project, reports Variety.
"In
early development, I lost my dad, and at the end, I lost my mom. So, there’s
been an emotional attachment to just finishing it and tying it to
closure."
The vibrant and colorful world of Elemental took seven years to
develop, and creating a character like Ember, who is made entirely of gas,
posed significant challenges.
While Sohn admits he wasn't
particularly strong in science, he found inspiration in the periodic table
and the idea of transforming elements into characters, making animation a
magical realm for him.
"I like science, but I wasn’t that great [at it]. I think
that’s why I loved animation so much, because it was like this magical
little thing that could happen when you flip pages."
"With the
periodic table and breaking down the atomic number and how that was tied to
the elements, it was different for me. This idea came from drawing buildings
on top of this periodic table and making them into characters."
