Easter Eggs And References You Missed In Elemental
One of the many reasons Pixar films have become regarded as the gold standard for computer animation is their attention to detail. Often, it feels like an impossible feat to catch every background joke and insider reference on just one viewing.
"Elemental," Pixar's first original story to be released in American theaters since 2020's "Onward," lands in theaters with a 76% RottenTomatoes score on opening day. While some may criticize its storytelling, an abundant visual palette continues to push Pixar's high standards of artistic and technological ambition.
Sprinkled throughout the film are numerous Easter eggs and references, enhancing both its entertainment value and its greater place in the Disney/Pixar universe. Below, a guide to some of the most noteworthy among them.
The sneakiest version of a classic Pixar Easter egg
One Easter egg that shows up in every single Pixar movie is the inclusion of "A113," a reference to the character animation classroom at CalArts, the art school attended by most of Pixar's head creatives (including "Elemental" and "The Good Dinosaur" director Peter Sohn). If you know to look for the designation, sometimes it's easy to find; prominent examples include Mater's license plate in the "Cars" movies, as well as the code for AUTO's directive in "WALL-E."
"Elemental," however, is a lot sneakier with its inclusion of the A113 Easter egg; viewers need a significant awareness of elemental science to get it. The WetCo transit sign for Element City includes three symbols for different train lines: "A," "H," and "Al," with the first in a circle and the latter two in squares. H is the atomic symbol for Hydrogen, which has an atomic number of 1 on the periodic table. Al is the symbol for Aluminum, which has the atomic number 13. Therefore, the sign is coded "A113."
It's worth noting that the elements anthropomorphized in "Elemental" are the four classical elements, which correspond to states of matter, rather than the atomic elements included on the periodic table. Sohn has said the genesis for the film's concept came about due to his interest in the periodic table as a high school student, so this scientific Easter egg feels very on point.
Lots of brand name puns
Many Easter eggs in "Elemental" consist of various element-themed puns on familiar brand names. This also comes natural, since much of the film takes place in a bodega-like store, and the majority of these puns are themed around fire or wood-themed products that dot the shelves of the Lumen family's Fire Town convenience store The Fire Place. The larger neighborhood also has punny brand names ("Best Fry" instead of Best Buy, for instance).
Candies on sale include "Sparkburst" (instead of Starburst), "Twig" (instead of Twix), "Juicy Flame" (instead of Juicy Fruit), and "Lightfinger" (instead of Butterfinger). Cereals brands include "Fire Smacks" (instead of Honey Smacks), "Frosted Flames" (instead of Frosted Flakes), and "Shredded Wood" (instead of Shredded Wheat). They have "Dr. Diesel" soda in place of Dr. Pepper, and the toothpaste of choice is "Kolgate," which is presumably made from coal.
The store is packed with so many details like this it would be impossible to catch them all in one viewing. To make it easier for viewers to appreciate these Easter eggs, the closing credits feature an array of concept art for these products, offering a chance to take note of the attention given to objects your eyes might pass over in the film itself.
A tribute to Ralph Eggleston
Not all the Easter eggs in "Elemental" are aiming for laughs; one storefront is a loving tribute to Ralph Eggleston, the Pixar art director and production designer who died in 2022 from pancreatic cancer. Eggleston is one of six individuals to whose memory "Elemental" is dedicated, along with fellow Pixar employees Thomas Gonzales, Amber Martorelli, and J. Garrett Sheldrew and Peter Sohn's parents, Yung Tahk Sohn and Hea Ja Sohn.
Eggleston gave Peter Sohn his first job at Pixar, in the art department on "Finding Nemo." This hidden tribute to Eggleston comes in the form of a sign reading "Eat at Ralph's. Two cents."
"The joke is that Ralph was such a film encyclopedia. He just knew every movie. And if you asked him about a new movie, he would sort of complain about it and say, 'That's just my two cents'," Sohn has explained. "So, we have that little love in there for him."
A date at the movies
As is the case with many couples, in both romantic comedies and in real life, one of Wade and Ember's first dates involves going to the movies. The scene at the theater is brief, and there's no footage shown of the movie they're watching, but the theater marquee reveals they're attending a screening of "Tide and Prejudice" — a water-themed version of the Jane Austen romance novel "Pride and Prejudice."
The Austen classic has been adapted directly to film twice (in 1940 and 2005), and has also loosely inspired romantic comedies like "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Fire Island." A water version fits with Wade's emotional tastes, and is sure to elicit a few tears.
Easter egg hunters will want to pay attention to the movie posters glimpsed outside the theater. One that stands out is promoting a film called "The Good Element," with the title written in the same font as Sohn's 2015 film "The Good Dinosaur." A lesser-known Pixar entry, "Dinosaur" isn't frequently referenced these days, but Sohn's team clearly hasn't nevertheless made sure to give it some love. Without seeing the full poster, however, it's unclear what might be the elemental equivalent of a dinosaur.
A girlfriend named Ghibli
There are some LGBTQ characters in "Elemental," although some may be disappointed that their inclusion is minimal once again (similar to the background lesbians in "Finding Dory" or "Toy Story 4"). This time around, it's Wade's non-binary sibling and their girlfriend, both minor characters with minimal dialogue. The girlfriend's name will surely perk up the ears of serious animation lovers — her name is Ghibli, a clear reference to beloved anime production company Studio Ghibli.
The Pixar animators have long expressed admiration for the work of Studio Ghibli and the films of Hayao Miyazaki. The likes of Pete Docter and former studio head John Lasseter have directed the English dubs of Ghibli films, and a toy Totoro made a significant cameo in "Toy Story 3." It is a little bit odd, however, that the character named Ghibli in "Elemental" is a water person, given that the word "Ghibli" means "a hot desert wind" in Italian and Arabic — as such, it would make more sense as a punny name for one of the air people.
References to Pixar's next film Elio
Ever since Boo handed Sully a toy Nemo in "Monsters, Inc." some two years before "Finding Nemo" was released, Pixar has built a tradition of not only including Easter eggs for their past movies but their future ones as well. "Elemental" was teased in "Lightyear," in fact, when Wade appeared as a cartoon mascot on water bottles in a vending machine. In turn, "Elemental" teases the next Pixar film "Elio," currently scheduled for theatrical release on March 1, 2024.
The most obvious "Elio" Easter egg appears in the background of a flashback scene, as a younger Wade gets sucked into a sponge in his school hallway. One poster in the school reads "Join the Space Club," with an image of a ringed, tentacled planet-like object that has already been revealed in the concept art for "Elio." The upcoming science fiction film involves a human boy being mistaken by aliens as the leader of Earth.
Other Easter eggs might become more noticeable as the release of "Elio" approaches. In an interview with the YouTube channel Eman's Movie Reviews, producer Denise Ream said the "Elemental" team "went through a lot of work" to fit one of the characters from "Elio" into the film. Without providing specific details, she said the character "looks fantastic, and makes me smile every time I see the character pop up."
Mixed cultural inspirations for the Firish
"Elemental" is a movie about immigrants, building its emotional arc around the sacrifices parents make when moving to a new country in hopes of building a better future for their children. The film's press notes explain that the filmmakers interviewed over 100 first- and second-generation immigrants at Pixar about their personal experiences to develop the story. Building from this variety of experiences, the fire people — the latest group of elemental beings to immigrate to Element City — are depicted via a range of cultural signifiers.
Some details, such as names being changed upon arrival and fears of both discrimination and assimilation, are applicable to many groups of immigrants in America. Other aspects draw from more specific cultures. The "Kiss Me, I'm Firish" shirts, for instance, are an obvious pun on "Kiss Me, I'm Irish."
Sohn was personally influenced by his own experiences as a second-generation Korean American married to a white woman, which inspired details such as how the food Ember loves is too spicy for her boyfriend Wade. A focus on kebabs and "falafuel" gives something of a Middle Eastern vibe to The Fire Place, while Thomas Newman's musical score draws heavily from Indian music. Ember's parents Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Ommi) speak in heavy accents, just ambiguous enough as to not directly assign the fire people to any specific human ethnicity.
Joe Pera's dream come true
Compared to other Pixar movies, the voice cast of "Elemental" is relatively light on big names. One cast member who will stand out to some is Joe Pera, a comedian best known for his Adult Swim series "Joe Pera Talks With You." Pera's comedic persona is like that of a grandparent, someone who takes things slowly and is interested in things most people might dismiss as boring. In "Elemental," Pera voices Fern Grouchwood, a slow-talking earth elemental office worker whose role in the story might remind some viewers of the sloth bureaucrats from "Zootopia."
"It was my main goal in life to play a tree," Pera says in the "Elemental" press notes. "Now that my dream has come true, I'm not really sure what to do with myself."
Whether or not Fern technically counts as a tree or some other type of plant, fans of "Joe Pera Talks With You" will be familiar with the comedian's affinity for trees and other plant life. Pera has produced content focused on helping viewers find the perfect Christmas tree, as well as providing relaxation to workers during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic while pondering the potential of a television channel called "Tree TV."
A very different sort of crying game
The water people in "Elemental" are characterized by extreme freedom of emotion and a willingness to cry over even the smallest thing. In one amusing scene, when Ember is visiting Wade's family for the first time, the Ripples all decide to play something they call "the crying game" together. The goal of this game is to try not to weep while provoking the other player to cry. The scene has a callback near the end of the film, where Wade's propensity for tears ends up saving his life.
While the scene itself could not really be considered a reference to anything, the name of the game might.
In 1992, Neil Jordan's "The Crying Game" became both a sensation and an awards season juggernaut. The decidedly-not-for-kids film was nominated for six Oscars (winning best writing for Jordan) and made stars out of Jordan, Stephen Rea and Kaye Davidson. Prior to that, Dave Berry's 1964 pop song "The Crying Game" (later featured in the film and covered by Boy George and Kate Robbins) was a top 10 hit.
Jordan's 1992 thriller, of course, became a hot topic of discussion for its surprise twist. In "Elemental," however, the only twist might be making adults think randomly of a very different movie.
Pay attention to the background characters
Without a doubt, there are countless Easter eggs and hidden references buried within the extensive crowd scenes of "Elemental." Even Sohn doesn't seem certain he could catch all of them.
"What's fun for me is that the crew will put in Easter eggs that I don't even know about," he says of the film. "I was just told a character from 'Up' is hidden in the film. They earthified, I think, [Dug] the dog. I think they replaced his fur with grass. He's somewhere in the film. I don't know where he is."
On a peripherally-related note, Dug appears in the "Carl's Date" short film playing before the movie. But which viewer will be the first to locate an earthified Dug in "Elemental," and what other beloved Pixar characters could be transformed hidden in plain sight among the crowds of Element City?
"There is a couple that are going through their own story back there," Sohn has said of one romance between some background characters. "You'll see a couple meet in the beginning, a couple get closer together, and then that same couple propose... it's throughout the whole film, but it's this little backstory that's going on that might be hard to find, but it's there."