How The Good Dinosaur’s director found a perfect Elemental cast

If fire and water could talk, what would they sound like? Peter Sohn, director of Pixar’s upcoming film Elementaryhad to figure out what kind of vocal performance would bring his fire character to life and make his water character a splash.

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

The film’s main characters – the fiery Ember and the watery Wade – needed actors whose voices could live up to these expectations while bringing more nuance to the basic descriptions. The Elementary filmmakers eventually cast Leah Lewis as Ember and Jurassic World Domination‘s Mamoudou Athie as Wade. It was Lewis’ performance in Half of it that was a real spark for Sohn.

“She performed at all these levels that were really interesting, where she could be hot-tempered, but still very attractive,” Sohn explains. “She had a vulnerability in her voice that also allowed her to be so sincere and authentic. But all the time it was the smoky voice. There were some moments in that movie where she talked to her dad, and it was so tender, but at the same time she could have a strength behind it that I thought was perfect.

As for casting Wade, it came down to one big thing: “When we first started the character, I used to draw him crying,” Sohn laughs.

When it came to crying, Athie impressed Sohn with his role in Oh John, no. At one point in the miniseries, his character breaks up and sobs well over it.

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

Elementary will be in cinemas from June 16. Tickets are now available in presale.