Pixar Returns to an Old Formula with Announce for Elemental

Though Pixar has been known for their films that give life to non-humans like Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Cars, their recent films like Luca, Soul, and Turning Red have been focused on very human stories. With their next film though, it looks like the studio will be coming back to form.

Here’s our first look at Elemental directed by Peter Sohn:

Check out this all-new concept art from Disney and Pixar’s Elemental. See the movie June 16, 2023! pic.twitter.com/Q3OfcSq0qb

— Pixar (@Pixar) May 16, 2022

Though Sohn is probably best known for his character voices like Squishy from Monsters University and Sox in the upcoming Lightyear, he has actually directed one film for Pixar—The Good Dinosaur. Admittedly, that film has kind of been forgotten when it comes to the studio’s filmography, but I am eager to see what Sohn wants to bring to the table this time around.

I don’t really know what kind of world they can create with elements like water and fire being given human traits, but I guess this could be some kind of reflection on human personalities.  While we should already expect the animation to be complicated based on Pixar standards, we should also hope for a very touching, heart-warming story.

We don’t know when we could get our first teaser, but with a release set for June next year, maybe we’ll get a look later 2022. In the meantime, the studio is just focusing on pushing their sci-fi Toy Story spinoff.

Elemental is set to come out June 16 next year, but you can watch out for Lightyear which hits theaters this June 17.