Animator's immigrant experience colors Pixar's 'Elemental'

She may have experienced hardship growing up as a stranger in a foreign country, but Korean American animator Lee Chae-yeon says being an immigrant allowed her to gain the discipline and creativity needed for working at a world-class studio...

Animator Lee Chae-yeon [LEE CHAE-YEON]

She may have experienced hardship growing up as a stranger in a foreign country, but Korean American animator Lee Chae-yeon says being an immigrant allowed her to gain the discipline and creativity needed for working at a world-class studio such as Pixar and making the new animation “Elemental.”

Lee, who worked on graphics for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022) and the animation for “Lightyear” (2022) before joining the “Elemental” team, first worked as a game animator before immigrating to Canada and then the United States to study film animation, then started at Pixar in 2021.

Main poster for ″Elemental″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

“My own experience as an immigrant in North America allowed me to empathize with the characters in ‘Elemental,’ especially Ember, the protagonist,” said Lee, during a group interview with reporters in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Wednesday. “Our team including Director Peter Sohn, who is also Korean American, shared our personal stories and experiences as first-generation or second-generation immigrants and that was something that allowed us to further immerse ourselves in the story.”

Set in a New York City-style metropolis where characters derived from the four elements – fire, water, earth and air – live together, “Elemental” was the closing film at the 76th Cannes International Film Festival this year.

In “Elemental,” Ember, a fire-element character, meets Wade, an easy-going water-element character who comes from a different background to her. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, the conduit via which the film explores issues such as diversity and people from different backgrounds coexisting together.

Wade, an easygoing water element character, meets Ember, a fire-element character, and strikes up an unlikely friendship in the new Pixar animation ″Elemental″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

“When I first moved to Canada 10 years ago I was struck by the hardships of having to live as a minority and the loneliness of that,” said Lee. “So addressing these themes through ‘Elemental’ has a personal meaning for me as well. Sharing stories of being discriminated against as an immigrant with Director Sohn and other animators in our team from immigrant backgrounds was also inspiring and a heartfelt time that led us to empathize and identify with the characters in ‘Elemental.’”

Lee also talked about the reputation that Korean animators and creators have within the industry, noting that Korean animators and creators are known for their discipline and detail-oriented work ethic.

“Because Korean animators and creators often lack communication skills due to the language barrier, they have to demonstrate their talent directly through their work and produce results, so they push themselves extra hard,” said Lee. “So I think that there is a perception that Korean animators are very disciplined and diligent. Koreans also have a deep sense of responsibility. Also, Koreans are very apt at settling into new trends because of the fast-changing culture back home, and that is also an asset.”

A scene from the new Pixar animation ″Elemental″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

“To put it nicely Korean animators have perseverance, to put it not so nicely we are bent on surviving,” added Lee with a laugh.

Working for Pixar in itself was a dream come true for Lee, who said that the studio was a “symbol” of success for her.

“Friends around me would always be telling me, ‘You need to work for Pixar, you need to work for Disney,’ and it was a kind of a far-away wish for me that has somehow come true,” said Lee. “Pixar is a studio that nearly everyone in animation dreams of working for. It is still unreal to me that I worked on these films at Pixar.”

Providing further insight about working on the animation for “Elemental,” making the features for main character Ember was the hardest, according to Lee.

“The entire period of working on ‘Elemental’ was about a year to a year and a half, and extra time was needed to add details to Ember’s character to express her emotions to the fullest,” said Lee. “When she is angry she turns purple, and the type of details needed made creating the character difficult. We also did a lot of research into how fire burns and the images that it creates to animate Ember. Slow-motion filming of an actual fire and how fire moves when it’s first lighted – all these things were researched by our team.”

A scene from the new Pixar animation ″Elemental″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

Also having joined the team for “Elio,” Pixar’s 28th feature animation that is set to be released next year, Lee has high hopes of delving into directing in the future.

“I would like to direct my own animation if the chance comes,” said Lee. “I already have an idea for it – a story surrounding the culture shocks that I had when I first moved to North America. I think directing is a sort of self-realization that most creators dream of.”

“Elemental” opens in theaters in Korea on June 14.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]