What is the history of animation city?

Tomorrow, the 22nd, the long-awaited release of “Elementos” takes place, a new animation by Disney and Pixar in Brazilian cinemas, directed by Peter Sohn (O Bom Dinossauro) and produced by Denise Ream (Cars 2). Check out the trailer!

The film will take place in Elemento City, inhabited only by beings that are part of some group of the four elements of nature: fire, water, earth and air. Even if all the characters live in harmony, there is an essential rule for the city to remain in order: the elements cannot mix.

However, things can start to change when Sparkle, a young woman of the fire element, and Gota, a boy of the water element, become friends and begin to prove that this rule is not entirely correct. But how will this city work?

Inspiration for Elemento City

During an article published by D23, director Peter Sohn explained that he was inspired by his childhood in New York City to create the city of the new animation. According to the filmmaker, his family emigrated from South Korea in the early 1970s, and settled in New York City, where they opened a grocery store in the Bronx neighborhood.

“One part is that there have been fun times and difficult times in my family. The other part is that I fell in love with someone who isn’t Korean — and my parents really wanted me to marry someone Korean — so there was a bit of a culture shock. Those two pieces of my life formed what would later become Elements.”

Furthermore, Sohn states that the concept of Cidade Elemento emerged from Faísca, where, from that, the other elements emerged.

“The concept of the city itself started with Faísca. We thought, ‘What’s the best city we can build to support Faísca’s journey of identity and belonging?’” she explained. “We started thinking about a difficult city for fire, so we based it on water. The idea is that the Water arrived first in this region, and then came to Earth, making it a delta”.

The filmmaker completed his speech by stating that “So they built a water infrastructure with water channels and raised water channels everywhere, making it even more difficult for Sparkle. Then, Air came after that, and Fire was one of the last groups to enter the city. In other words, it is not the easiest place for Faísca”.