Peter Sohn pitched the concept of Elemental to Pixar based on the idea of whether fire and water could ever connect or not. The film was also inspired by his experiences as a son of Korean immigrants in New York City during the 1970s. He stated: “My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 1970s and built a bustling grocery store in the Bronx. We were among many families who ventured to a new land with hopes and dreams — all of us mixing into one big salad bowl of cultures, languages, and beautiful little neighborhoods. That’s what led me to Elemental.”  In addition, he also cited his relationship with his eventual wife Anna Chambers which led to a culture clash within his family and world as an inspiration as well. Thus, he says the film’s 7-year development is closely tied to his relationships with family.  As for the city, Sohn stated: “The concept of the city itself started off with Ember. We thought, ‘What’s the best city we can build to support Ember’s journey of identity and belonging?’ It started by thinking about a city that would be hard for fire, and so we based it off of water. The idea is that Water got to this area first, and then Earth came, so it became a delta. Then, they built a water infrastructure with water canals and elevated water channels everywhere, making it even tougher for Ember. Then, Air came in after that, and Fire was one of the last groups to come into the city.” When Sohn first pitched the story and started developing it, he asked himself: “What’s fire? People can see it as a temper. People can see it as passion. As a practical thing, fire burns and sparks—but what does it mean to burn bright? There are all these ingredients to what we already perceive as fire, and that started to form Ember’s personality. It’s the same thing for Wade. Water can be transparent. What does that mean? He wears his emotions on his sleeve. He goes with the flow. That helped form these personalities that were already pretty opposite, and then we had to find that Venn diagram of where they overlapped. That’s the hopeful magic. I hope people can buy into the sparks, the chemical reaction, that could form a relationship.”  Sohn also cited romantic comedy films as particular influences when he enjoyed leaning into the rom-com as a storytelling genre. He also used a doodle of the periodic table in high school as an early form of expression within the movie’s genesis: “There was this funny drawing that I remember discovering about like a fire and a water character, and that triggering a whole lot of different ideas, and I just couldn’t stop drawing these new, little things.”

              Element City was modeled after New York City as a series of immigrant neighborhoods composed of organic materials that would complement each element. Firetown’s built with ceramic, metal, and brick, for instance. Production designer Don Shank said, “design ideas inspired new technology, which inspired new design.” Sohn also noted that he “went into more detail about how the design and tech process went for designing Ember and Wade.” He saw personifying elements as a difficult challenge. Although personifying air wasn’t nearly as hard as fire and water. For example, Wade was incredibly complex with the biggest challenge through creating visual effects. While the animators needed to find some middle ground to create the character and make him transparent enough. Studio set designers looked to cities like Amsterdam and Venice for inspiration with their water canals and the buildings that surround the cities have immense detail and thought put into them. Since the Covid 19 pandemic made travel to those places impossible, they had to watch many hours of point-of-city tours on YouTube for inspiration. Upon its 2023 release, Elemental received positive reviews and grossed $496.4 million at the box office. In this post, you’ll meet the voices behind one more character from Strange World, voice actor Matt Yang King, as well as Ember, Wade, Gale, Fern Grouchwood, Flarry, and 3 characters from Wish.

571. Emily Kuroda

Dates: 1952-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Fresno, California. Began acting and directing in high school. Majored in drama at California State University Fresno before launching her career on stage and screen. Made her screen debut in 1982.

Movies and Cartoons: Strange World (2022) as well as the series Baymax!.

Characters: Ro

Also Known For: Actress best known as Mrs. Kim in Gilmore Girls as well as had a long career on stage and screen. Is a veteran of the East West Players, Los Angeles’ premiere theater group. Film appearances include Worth Winning, Dad, Why Me?, Late for Dinner, Broken Words, Yellow, The Suburbans, Stranger Inside, Shopgirl, The Sensei, Hotel for Dogs, Peep World, RED, Yellow Face, Alex Mapa: Baby Daddy, Take the 10, and Kimi. TV appearances include Remington Steele, CBS Storybreak, Gung Ho, Matlock, MacGyver, L.A. Law, Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone, Columbo, Knots Landing, Dynasty: The Reunion, Doogie Howser M.D., Sisters, The Jackie Thomas Show, ER, The Young and the Restless, Party of Five, The Practice, Chicago Hope, The King of Queens, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, The Agency, Under One Roof, Grey’s Anatomy, Drop Dead Diva, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Resident, The Good Doctor, All Rise, and The Power. Stage appearances include Red, Winter People, Innocent When You Dream, and No-No Boy.

Personal Life: Married to actor/director Alberto Isaac since 1980.

Later Life: Still working as of 2025.

Trivia: None.

572. Leah Lewis

Dates: 1996-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Shanghai, China. Adopted from an orphanage at 6 months and raised in Windermere, Florida. Parents are realtors. Discovered performing arts at Crenshaw School in Orlando, Florida. Attended Thornebrooke Elementary School in Ocoee, Florida and Orlando’s Southwest Middle School. During her teenage years, she and her mother often moved back and forth between Orlando and Los Angeles. At 17, she went back to finish high school at Olympia High School before moving back to Los Angeles at 20 in 2016. Started acting in  commercials at a young age. Made her screen debut in 2006.

Movies and Cartoons: Elemental (2023)

Characters: Ember Lumen

Also Known For: Actress best known as Georgia “George” Fan in Nancy Drew, Ellie Chu in The Half of It, and Sarah in Matlock. Film appearances include Nanking, How to Deter a Robber, and The Tiger’s Apprentice. TV appearances include The New Adventures of Old Christine, Paloozaville, The Voice, The Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything, The Good Doctor, Charmed, Station 19, It’s Pony, and Batwheels. Web appearances include Sing It!, Teens React, Guidance, and My Dead Ex.

Personal Life: Has a younger sister who was adopted in the same orphanage as her. Began dating singer Payson Lewis in 2016.

Later Life: Still actively working as of 2025.

Trivia: Aside from acting, Lewis sings, plays guitar, and does photography.

573. Mamoudou Athie

Dates: 1988-present 

                                                                            

Early Life and Career: Born in Mauritania. Father was a diplomat who received asylum in the United States when he was 6 months old. Grew up in North Carrollton, Maryland outside Washington D.C. Studied acting at the William Esper Studio in the Two-Year Professional Actor Training Program. Graduated with an MFA at the Yale School of Drama in 2014. Began his career in theater, starring off-Broadway in The Mystery of Love and Sex in 2015. Made first screen appearance in 2015.

Movies and Cartoons: Elemental (2023) as well as the short An Almost Christmas Story.

Characters: Wade Ripple

Also Known For: Actor best known as Elijah in Uncorked, Noah Wright in Black Box, Hal Dockins in The Burial, Matt Greer in Sorry for Your Loss, and Jerome in Cake. Film appearances include Kinds of Kindness, Experimenter, Jean of the Joneses, Patti Cake$, The Circle, Unicorn Store, Underwater, Jurassic World Dominion, and They Boy and the Heron. TV appearances include Archive 81, Madam Secretary, The Get Down, The Detour, and Strange Planet.

Personal Life: Can’t find anything about his personal life.

Later Life: Still actively working as of 2025.

Trivia: Has been nominated for an Emmy.

574. Wendi McLendon-Covey

Dates: 1969-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Bellflower, California. Grew up in Long Beach. Attended De Mille Junior High and graduated from Milikan High School. Attended Long Beach City College, Golden West College, and California State University, Long Beach where she graduated with a B.A. in liberal studies and creative writing. While working at a hotel in Anaheim and after graduating from college, she enrolled for weekend classes for non-actors at The Groundlings, whom she officially joined in 2002. All while she worked as an editor for California State University’s academic journal of social work until 2012. Made her screen debut in 2001.

Movies and Cartoons: Elemental (2023) and Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation (2024) as well as a few series.

Characters: Gale Cumulus

Also Known For: Actress best known as Beverly Goldberg in The Goldbergs and Deputy Clementine Johnson in Reno 911!. Film appearances include Bewitched, Over Her Dead Body, Bridesmaids, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, The Single Moms Club, Blended, Think Like a Man Too, Hello, My Name Is Doris, Goosebumps 2: Happy Halloween, What Men Want, Sylvie’s Love, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Blush, Cook Off!, Jesus People: The Movie, Douchebag, Tug, The Search for Santa Paws, 10 Rules for Sleeping Around, Date and Switch, A Merry Friggin’ Christmas, The Breakup Girl, Army of One, Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, Braking for Whales, Long Weekend, Prom Pact, Paint, and Sick Girl. TV appearances include Lovespring International, Rules of Engagement, The Office, 10 Things I Hate About You, Cougar Town, Svetlana, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Hot in Cleveland, Bob’s Burgers, The Looney Tunes Show, RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars, Modern Family, Mike Tyson Mysteries, American Dad!, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Schooled, Crossing Swords, M.O.D.O.K., History of the World, Part II, Grimsburg, and St. Denis Medical.

Personal Life: Married to property manager and former corporate executive Greg Covey since 1996.

Later Life: Still actively working as of 2025.

Trivia: None.

575. Joe Pera

Dates: 1988-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Buffalo, New York. Raised in the suburb of Amherst. Studied film at Ithaca College where he competed and won its stand-up competition 3 times and graduated in 2010. Moved to New York City to pursue comedy and participated in open mic nights as often as possible. Made screen debut in 2013.

Movies and Cartoons: Elemental (2023)

Characters: Fern Grouchwood

Also Known For: Comedian, writer, and actor best known as the creator and star of Joe Pera Talks with You, which ran for 3 seasons. TV appearances include The Chris Gethard Show, Conan, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, F Is for Family, Search Party, and Bob’s Burgers.

Personal Life: I can’t find anything about his personal life.

Later Life: Still actively working as of 2025.

Trivia: Is a huge tomato enthusiast with numerous tomato photos on his Instagram. He stated, “Oh, I’ve been into tomatoes for years. It’s a bit of a challenge when so many people bring me tomatoes after shows and I have to eat them whether I’m in the mood for a tomato or not. Because people are so kind about offering them. They aren’t the easiest produce to transport so I try to eat them fresh when someone brings them. And, it is hard to turn down a good heirloom tomato.”

576. Matt Yang King

Dates: 1974-present

Early Life and Career: Studied acting at New York University Tisch School of the Arts and lived in New York City until 1998. Left to tour the United States with the musical Titanic, playing quartermaster Robert Hichens and Bandsman Bricoux that began in Los Angeles. Made his screen debut in 2001.

Movies and Cartoons: Elemental (2023) and Inside Out 2 (2024) as well as the TV movie The Even Stevens Movie and the series The Lion Guard.

Characters: Alan Ripple, Lutz, and Earth Pruner

Also Known For: Actor best known as Appa and Momo in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Film appearances include Only Yesterday, Species III, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Kreutzer Sonata, Red Dawn (2012), Sightless, Turok: Son of Stone, Back to the Sea, Batman Ninja, Bright: Samurai Soul, and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. TV appearances include Riverdale, Powers, Strong Medicine, Numb3rs, 24, Love, Death & Robots, G. I. Joe Renegades, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Supah Ninjas, Crossing Jordan, ER, The West Wing, Friends, Fraiser, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: NY, Eli Stone, Bones, Steam Punk’d, Grimm, Lucifer, Rosewood, Naruto, Regular Show, Robot Chicken, Squid Game, and Creature Commandos. Video game appearances include the World of Warcraft franchise, Cyberpunk 2077, Fortnite, Marvel Heroes, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Valkyria Chronicles, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, The Saboteur, Dragon Age: Origins, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, Dead to Rights: Retribution, Final Fantasy XIII-2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, Nicktoons MLB, Might & Magic Heroes VI, Skylanders: Giants, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Resident Evil 6, Diablo III, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, BioShock Infinite, Hearthstone, Fallout 4, Agents of Mayhem, Injustice 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Death Stranding, Judgement, Ghost of Tsushima, Lost Judgement, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Rosewater. Stage appearances include Titanic: A New Musical, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Tempest.

Personal Life: Has 3 children.

Later Life: Has been working on a couple crowdfunding projects such as The Goblins Animated and a web series called The World of Steam. The latter has established as leader in the Steampunk Creative community.

Trivia: None.

577. Jonathan Adams

Dates: 1967-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and grew up in Wilkinsburg. Graduated from Wilkinsburg High School in 1985 and studied acting at Carnegie Mellon University for a year and a half before having to drop out due to his inability to afford tuition. Made screen debut in 1990.

Movies and Cartoons: Planes (2013) and Elemental (2023) as well as the Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2, the video game Kinect Disneyland Adventures, and the series Cars Toons and Sofia the First.

Characters: Flarry

Also Known For: Actor best known as Henry Walker in American Dreams, Daniel Goodman in Bones, and Chuck Larabee in Last Man Standing. Also known for his voice acting with roles such as Galactus, Dormammu, Kang the Conqueror, Darkseid, and Atrocitus. Film appearances include Air Bud: Golden Receiver and Osmosis Jones. TV appearances include Frasier, Felicity, The American Embassy, Crossing Jordan, The Unit, One Tree Hill, NCIS, Women’s Murder Club, 24, Medium, Boston Legal, Numb3rs, NCIS: Los Angeles, Black Panther, Desperate Housewives, Hellcats, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Memphis Beat, Burn Notice, Prophets of Science Fiction, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Castle, Up All Night, Uncle Grandpa, The Legend of Korra, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Drop Dead Diva, Dallas, Once Upon a Time, Avengers Assemble, Ultimate Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Stinky & Dinky Show, Masters of Sex, Justice League Action, Man with a Plan, The Orville, Designated Survivor, Detroiters, Teen Titans Go!, Dark Winds, All Rise, Bob Hearts Abishola, Grey’s Anatomy, and Dexter: Original Sin. Video game appearances include Army of Two: The 40^th Day, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Diablo III, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Hitman: Absolution, Hearthstone, The Elder Scrolls Online, Skylanders series, Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, World of Warcraft: Legion, and For Honor.

Personal Life: Married to Monica Farrell since 1994. They have 2 children.

Later Life: Still actively working as of 2025.

Trivia: None.

578. Ariana DeBose

Dates: 1991-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Wilmington, North Carolina. Mother is a middle school teacher. Trained in dance at CC & Co. Dance Complex in Raleigh, where she also grew up. Made her TV debut in 2009 as a contestant in So You Think You Can Dance where she made it to the Top 20. Debuted on Broadway in 2011.

Movies and Cartoons: Wish (2023) as well as the short Once Upon a Studio.

Characters: Asha

Also Known For: Actress and singer best known as Anita in West Side Story (2021), Jane in A Bronx Tale (2016-2017), and Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Film appearances include The Prom, Company, Hamilton, I.S.S., Argylle, House of Spoils, Kraven the Hunter, and Love Hurts. TV appearances include So You Think You Can Dance, Schmigadoon!, Blue Bloods, Hamilton’s America, Saturday Night Live, Human Resources, Westworld, Bubble Guppies, and Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. Stage appearances include Bring It On: The Musical, Motown: The Musical, Pippin, Hairspray, Les Miserables, and Gutenberg! The Musical!.

Personal Life: Identifies as queer and came out to her grandparents in 2015. Has been in 2 relationships. First with theater props master Jill Johnson. Second with costume designer and professor Sue Makkoo from 2017-2023.

Later Life: In 2020, she and Jo Ellen Pellman launched the Unruly Hearts Initiative, created to help young people connect with organizations and charities that advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.

Trivia: Has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe. Has been nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys and a Tony Award. Hosted the Tony Awards in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.

579. Angelique Cabral

Dates: 1979-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Grew up in Carmel Valley, California and attended All Saint’s Day School and Santa Catalina School as well as Indiana University in Bloomington. Booked her professional job at 6 months in a United Airlines commercial. Has since appeared in various commercials such as Citibank, The Home Depot, Captain Morgan, New York Lotto, and Blue Cross, and Toyota. Print campaigns include Verizon, Western Union, Olympus, Redbook, Fed Ex, and Loestrin. Made her screen debut in 2004.

Movies and Cartoons: Wish (2023)

Characters: Queen Amaya

Also Known For: Actress best known as Colleen Brandon-Ortega in Life in Pieces and Staff Sergeant Jillian Perez in Enlisted. Film appearances include The Perfect Family, Friends with Benefits, Band Aid, All About Nina, and How It Ends. TV appearances include Guiding Light, All My Children, One Life to Live, Melrose Place, Two and a Half Men, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, Talking Marriage with Ryan Bailey, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, Chicago P.D., The Odd Couple, Transparent, Fresh Off the Boat, Grey’s Anatomy, Undone, Grace and Frankie, With Love, DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms, Maggie, Big Sky, and The Neighborhood.

Personal Life: First cousin once removed of actress Edie McClurg. Married to marketing director Jason Osbourn since 2013. They have a daughter Adelaide and a son Alden.

Later Life: Still actively working as of 2025.

Trivia: None.

580. Victor Garber

Dates: 1949-present

Early Life and Career: Born in London, Ontario in Canada. Mother was actress, singer, and host of At Home with Hope Garber Bessie Hope Wolf. Attended Ryerson Elementary School and London Central Secondary School. Began acting at 9 in 1958. Enrolled in the children’s program of the Grand Theatre. At 16, he was accepted at a 6-week summer theatre training program at the University of Toronto. Studied acting at HB Studio in New York. After a period as a solo folk singer, Garber formed folk group called The Sugar Shoppe in 1967, which enjoyed moderate success with 4 songs charting the Canadian charts as well as performed The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson before breaking up. Made his screen debut in 1973.

Movies and Cartoons: Wish (2023) as well as the live action TV movie Cinderella.

Characters: Sabino

Also Known For: Canadian actor and singer best known as Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Garry LeJuene in Noises Off, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, Bernard Nightingale in Arcadia, Serge in Art, Clifford Anderson in Deathtrap, The Men in Belle’s Life in Little Me, Applegate in Damn Yankees, John Wilkes Booth in Assassins, Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly!, Jesus Christ in Godspell, Jack Bristow in Alias, Sidney Luft in Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, and Martin Stein/Firestorm in The Flash and Legends  of Tomorrow. Film appearances include Titanic, Milk, Argo, Sleepless in Seattle, The First Wives Club, Annie (1999), Legally Blonde, Sicario, Dark Waters, Happiest Season, Monkeys in the Attic,  Mixed Nuts, Life with Mikey, Exotica, Jeffrey, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Tuck Everlasting, Home Room, Star Trek, You Again, The Town, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Entitled, Take Me Home, Moving Day, I’ll Follow You Down, Big Game, Self/less, Consumed, Rebel in Rye, Funny Face (2020), Fly Me to the Moon, and Relay. TV appearances include Frasier, Will & Grace, ABC Afterschool Special, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Twilight Zone, Guiding Light, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Liberace: Behind the Music, Alex Haley’s Queen, Dieppe, Sesame Street, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Law & Order, The Outer Limits, Liberty! The American Revolution, Call Me Claus, The Music Man, American Masters, Ugly Betty, ReGenesis, Eli Stone, The Last Templar, Glee, Nurse Jackie, Web Therapy, Republic of Doyle, Stargate Universe, Suits, Murdoch Mysteries, Flashpoint, 30 Rock, Law & Order: LA, William & Catherine: A Royal Romance, Charlie’s Angels, The Big C, Damages, The Firm, Deception, The Hunters, The Good Wife, Louie, Blue Bloods, Power, Motive, The Slap, The Orville, Modern Family, Spirit Riding Free, Tales of the City, Schitt’s Creek, Power II: Ghost, Family Law, The Simpsons, And Just Like That…, and American Horror Stories. Stage appearances include Godspell, Ghosts, The Shadow Box, Tartuffe, They’re Playing Our Song, You Can Never Tell, The Devil’s Disciple, Love Letters, Merrily We Roll Along, A Little Night Music, Follies, Present Laughter, She Loves Me, and Gutenberg! The Musical!.

Personal Life: Prefers to keep his personal life private and stays out of the tabloids. Referred publicly to being gay in 2012 saying, “I don’t really talk about it but everyone knows.” Has been married to Canadian artist and model Rainer Andreesen since 2015 and they’ve been together since 2000. Was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at 12 in 1962.

Later Life: Still actively working as of 2025.

Trivia: Has been nominated 3 Gemini Awards, 4 Tony Awards, 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and 6 Primetime Emmys. Made Officer of the Order of Canada in 2022. Officiated Jennifer Gardner’s wedding with Ben Affleck in 2005.