Characters from the Pixar movie Elemental.
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Lumen Family
Ember Lumen
"I've been trying to fill my father's shoes, but I never once asked what I wanted to do."
Voiced by: Leah Lewis, Clara Lin Ding (Little Kid Ember), Reagan To (Big Kid Ember)
A young fire elemental who is working toward taking over her father's shop. However, she struggles due to a situation she can't bring herself to accept.
- All of the Other Reindeer: She's an introverted outcast who is feared by most others.
- Badass Adorable: Is a very cute and pretty fire woman who has plenty of badass moments.
- Berserk Button: Having to deal with obnoxious customers who quickly get on her nerves.
- Burning with Anger: Ember is a fire person with a Hair-Trigger Temper. Her goal throughout the film is to overcome her anger issues.
- Daddy's Girl: Ember and her dad have a very loving relationship, and Ember is excited to run the shop one day. At least, until she realizes she really doesn't.
- Damsel in Distress: During the flash flood, she is confined to a small space and needs to be rescued by Wade.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: She dates Wade, a Water guy, in secret, in spite of her father’s dislike toward water elementals.
- Deadpan Snarker: Roughly 60% of her dialogue is sarcastic.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Ironic, considering she's a fire young woman. She's initially asocial towards other elements, due to the fact that "elements don't mix". But her growing relationship with Wade causes her to change her mind.
- Dude Magnet: She catches the attention of Clod and Wade.
- Fatal Flaw:
- Her anger issues. She has a short temper that, more often than not, puts her into uncomfortable situations. In fact, this is the main reason why Bernie was reluctant to retire and give his job to his daughter.
- Her refusal to open up about her true feelings, especially to her parents out of fear of disappointing them, something that Wade calls her out for multiple times.
- Fiery Redhead: Taken to a literal sense.
- Freudian Excuse: Ember's Berserk Button is handling obnoxious customers because she actually doesn't want to take over her father's shop, but she represses it out of a sense of duty to her heritage and not wanting to disappoint her sick father. After Wade sacrifices himself to save Ember, she finally tells her father how she truly feels and that running the shop isn't her dream.
- Hartman Hips: Ember is otherwise pretty skinny, but has noticeably wide hips.
- Hypocrite: During an argument with Wade, she tells him not to judge her when she just judged him by calling him and his family rich kids who like to follow their hearts.
- It's All My Fault: She says this after the flood destroys the store and Wade evaporates.Ember: (tearfully) This is all my fault. The shop... Wade...
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She acts unkind and hostile to those who get her angered, but she is very caring and thoughtful towards the ones she loves.
- Lady Swears-a-Lot: She has quite the vocabulary throughout the film. Granted, the swears are all element based, but it is still clear what she means.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Is the fiery and snarky masculine girl to Wade's out-going and emotional feminine boy.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Is very strong for such a skinny woman.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Ember when her lies and secrets go too far and get exposed.
- Near-Death Experience: She almost dies when she gets to see the Vivisteria flower and later during the flood.
- Official Couple: Becomes one with Wade at the end.
- Rapid-Fire "No!": When her tantrum causes the Fireplace's basement to be flooded.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to Wade's Blue Oni. Ember's fire is red and she is fiery and hot-headed.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Ember starts falling for Wade once she notices, despite being a goof, he's a helpful, empathic guy.
- Technicolor Fire: She can change colors by standing on crystallized minerals. She also turns purple whenever she loses her temper.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Becomes happier when she starts dating Wade.
- Took a Level in Kindness: She also becomes less abrasive and violent.
- Tomboyish Voice: Has a deep, raspy voice.
- Tsundere: Starts out rather harsh and dismissive towards Wade, but falls in love with him over the course of the movie.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Ember tries proving to her father that she can run the convenience store by herself since he plans to pass it to her when he retires. Ember then meets Wade's family and shows them her talent in glass art, and Wade's mom suggests that she can start a business out of it, fueling Ember's conflict with Bernie.
Bernie Lumen
Voiced by: Ronnie del Carmen
Ember's father, who trains Ember to take over his shop, refusing to retire until she is ready.
- Anti-Villain: His expectations for Ember and his deep-seated racism towards water people drive much of the plot of Elemental, but he is not an outright evil antagonist.
- Berserk Button
- The mere sight of a water person in his shop is enough to send him into a rage for most of the film.
- The idea of being "watered down" particularly sets him off and is what prompts him to ban Wade from his shop when Wade tries suggesting it for one of his food-items to make it more palatable for a water-elemental.
- Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Downplayed. Due to his hatred of water, Ember keeps her relationship with Wade secret through most of the film. By the time he actually does find out, there are bigger concerns.
- Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: His own father was a strict, cold, and uncaring disciplinarian who never even pretended to give him respect. Even at his worst, Bernie is kind of prejudiced against water elemental and is bad at communicating with Ember at times. Best shown when Bernie returns a formal farewell bow to Ember, which his own father refused to do.
- Freudian Excuse: His animosity towards water people comes from the fact that his original home was destroyed by a storm, the fact that he and Cinder were met with hostility when they first arrived in Element City, and when Ember was just a child, she and her family weren’t allowed to see a rare flower that can grow in any elements, fire included, by a water guard.
- Fantastic Racism: Bernie has a huge hatred towards water people to the point that Wade pretending to be a food inspector prompts him to give the latter extremely hot food as a means of torture before banning him from his shop for watering it down. By the end of the movie, he gets over this and comes to accept water people.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Averted. While Bernie develops a nasty, smoky cough throughout the movie it's not because he is dying but because he is extremely tired for still working hard well past retirement age, waiting for Ember to take over his duties when he deems her ready. Once he turns the shop over to his close friends instead at the end, his health is restored as he enjoys retirement.
- Improvised Weapon: When he recognizes Wade as the guy who burst the pipes and Ember chased out of the store, he threatens him with a fireplace poker, but Ember hastily says he's a different guy.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When Bernie realizes that he has been accidentally pressuring Ember to run the shop.
- Parents as People: He is a kind, loving father who wants Ember to grow up and take over the store. He is also deeply prejudiced against Water elementals after the harsh treatment their kind gave him long ago upon migrating to Elemental City. He also never tells Ember that she doesn't need to take over his store to make him happy until after the flood destroys the shop. Her being happy in her own life is all he truly desires.
- Poirot Speak: He occasionally speaks in broken English, mostly to highlight how he wasn't born in Element City like Ember was.
- Running Gag: He keeps saying the word "banned" wrong by saying "panned".
- So Proud of You: Unlike his own father, Bernie makes sure that Ember knows she has his blessing, even if she doesn't inherit his shop. When Ember gives Bernie the Big Bow as she departs for her internship, he gladly responds in kind.
Cinder Lumen
Voiced by: Shila Ommi
Ember's mother who specializes in determining if two individuals were meant to be together.
- Fortune Teller: She gives incense readings for couples to determine if they're meant to be by smelling and looking for shapes in the smoke.
- Happily Married: To Bernie. Even in the present day they are clearly happily in love and only want the best for their daughter. More of it is shown in a very sweet montage during the end credits.
- The Nose Knows: She can smell when someone is in love, at least when it comes to other fire elementals.
- Never Mess with Granny: Despite being a little old, she manages to put up a good fight against a doorman by turning into a flaming tornado.
- Open-Minded Parent: Cinder is prejudiced against water people, especially since her mother pleaded that Ember "marry fire" on her deathbed. But after Wade successfully lights his matchmaking incense, she reads that he and Ember are a perfect match. She henceforth supports their relationship, even against Bernie.
- Running Gag: When she does her incense readings for couples and they make out in front of her, she spritzes them with water from a bottle.
- Shipper on Deck: Played with. She does smell love off of Ember, though when she finds out that she's in love with a water person, she quickly opposes it and seeks to prove they can't be together... until Wade finds a way around her Impossible Task. Even in the climax, where Ember insists she doesn't love Wade at all, Cinder insists it's not true.
Ripple Family
Wade Ripple
"Why does anyone get to tell you what you can do in your life?"
Voiced by: Mamoudou Athie
A water elemental who works as a building inspector. After ending up in Ember's home by accident, he finds himself having to help her keep the store from closing, concluding it as the right thing to do.
- Absurd Phobia: Wade is afraid of sponges after getting stuck inside one as a kid.Wade: I was stuck in there for hours!
- Act of True Love: Wade sacrifices himself to save Ember, showing that he loves her so much that he puts her needs first before his own.
- Amazon Chaser: Begins to realize he has feelings for Ember once he sees her create and inflate a makeshift hot air balloon.
- Apologetic Attacker: While not technically attacking Ember, Wade, as the city's building inspector, apologizes to her for finding too many safety violations and having to shut down the Fireplace in his Establishing Character Moment, all while sobbing hysterically.
- Big Beautiful Man: Wade is noticeably pudgy and is quite charming and friendly, and Ember ends up falling for him.
- Disappeared Dad: His father died at some point in the past, and the loss still weighs heavily on Wade because he never got to patch things up with him.
- Disappointed in You: While arguing with Ember, he becomes disappointed in her by saying that after everything they've done, she still bottles up her emotions just to satisfy everyone, especially her father.
- Disney Death: Wade briefly evaporates when confined in a small space with Ember during the flood. While she opts to open their way out at the risk of her getting extinguished, Wade insists on taking the sacrifice. Luckily, being trapped means all that water has nowhere to go, so Ember quickly finds a way to bring Wade back when she realizes he's dripping off the ceiling.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: His attempts to apologize to Ember for accidentally trying to stamp her out goes downhill immediately due to his poor choice of words.Wade: You're so hot!
Ember: (deeply offended) Excuse me?!
Wade: (Oh, Crap! Face) No! I mean, you're smoking! No! I didn't mean it like that...
Ember: Are you done yet?
Wade: (sweating) Yes please! - Dying Declaration of Love: He reaffirms his love for Ember as he's slowly evaporating, telling her just how much he loves how her light reflects off the water. He gets better.
- George Jetson Job Security: It’s established that Wade lost many jobs before becoming a city inspector. He later admits that part of the reason might be the fact he lost his father without patching things up with him, which left him directionless about what to do with his life, until he met Ember.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He arrives to save Ember where the store is flooded which results in them getting trapped in a room too hot for him. Rather than let Ember break them out, which would result in her getting put out by the water surrounding them, he accepts his fate and keeps her calm.
- Innocently Insensitive: The worst thing you can say about Wade is that says or does the wrong thing with the best of intentions. A prime example is when he waters Bernie's food down to his liking, which Bernie doesn't take well.
- Longing Look: He often watches Ember with a smitten look on his face throughout their first date.
- Manic Pixie Dream Guy: He quite literally bursts into Ember's life and ends up snapping her out of her routine.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Is the easy-going and emotional feminine boy to Ember's fiery and snarky masculine girl.
- Momma's Boy: Wade has a very loving and supportive relationship with his mother. as they love each other dearly and Wade's mother supports his son.
- Near-Death Experience: Wade evaporates the Fireplace's hearth, but fortunately the porous bricks collect his droplets, which allows him to merge back together.
- Nice Guy: He’s a kind, sensitive and easy-going person, and even when someone wrongs him, he doesn’t hold any grudge.
- Official Couple: Becomes one with Ember at the end.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Overall a cheerful guy, but the only time he gets genuinely angry is during his fight and eventual break-up with Ember, where he tells her that she’s simply too stubborn to realize that running her dad’s shop is not her dream.
- On a smaller note, while not fully angry, he’s shown to get upset when his nephews nearly drown Ember just for a quick joke, and when his uncle makes a microaggression towards her at dinner.
- Pitbull Dates Puppy: Wade is a very gentle and sentimental water boy who falls in love with the temperamental and explosive fire girl Ember, who is capable of burning everything around her when she gets angry.
- Prone to Tears: He gets emotional very easily and frequently displays Ocular Gushers when he starts crying.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is the Blue Oni to Ember's Red Oni. His water is blue and is calm and goes with the flow.
- Sigh of Love: When dancing with Ember, Wade sighs happily as he expresses how lucky he feels to be with her.
- Temporary Bulk Change: Wade can absorb additional water, changing his physique. He's introduced to Ember having just been washed away by a flash flood, causing him to look like a Hunk before he shakes out the excess water. Later, when they're attempting to sandbag the broken spillway door, he uses his body to obstruct the flow, creating a brief Inflating Body Gag that makes him look much fatter.
- Uptown Guy: His family is very rich while Ember's is struggling.
Brook Ripple
- Voiced by: Catherine O'Hara
Wade's mother and an architect in Element City.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Downplayed. She playfully teases Wade about his feelings for Ember, and recalls an embarrassing childhood anecdote of his where he accidentally got sucked into a sponge.
- Bourgeois Bohemian: She’s very well-off, and her apartment is modern and well-designed, however, she puts a lot of emphasis on art, dresses like a hippie, and despite some Innocently Insensitive behavior, not only supports Wade and Ember’s relationship, but seems to be more aware of Fire people’s plight, such as shooting her brother an angry stare when he makes a micro aggression towards Ember.
- Foil: Brook is the opposite of Bernie. Bernie is stubborn and short-tempered, built his shop by hand and disproves of Wade being with his daughter. Brooke is easygoing and open, designs buildings, and is thrilled about Wade and Ember's relationship.
- Innocently Insensitive: Brook's comment about Ember being "smoky" is well-meant, but the fire girl can only laugh it off uncomfortably. She does, however, glare daggers at her brother for a microaggression directed at Ember.
- Open-Minded Parent: Brook has no issue whatsoever with her son dating a fire girl, and welcomes Ember into the home as if she were her own daughter. Furthermore, Brook has a non-binary child whom she treats with the same amount of love as the rest of her family.
- Prone to Tears: Much like her son, she often bursts into tears at the slightest provocation.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: A positive use of the trope. Upon seeing Ember's talent for creating glass art, Brook makes a personal call to a friend who works for the biggest construction company in Element City. They've been looking for an intern, and Brook pretty much ensures Ember the job (without even worrying about the application process) just by virtue of her friendship with the current employee.
- Shipper on Deck: She's fully supportive of Wade and Ember's budding romance, telling Ember that Wade is absolutely smitten with her.
- Silver Vixen: Has two grandsons, and is very young looking and attractive.
Wade's Relatives
Uncle Harold voiced by: Ronobir Lahiri
Alan voiced by: Matt Yang King
Eddy voiced by: Krysta Gonzales
Marco and Polo voiced by: Innocent Onanovie Ekakitie
Lake voiced by: Ava Kai Hauser
Ghibli voiced by: Maya Aoki Tuttle
Wade's extended family, comprising of his maternal uncle Harold, his older brother Alan, Alan's wife Eddy, their kids Marco and Polo, Wade's younger sibling Lake, and their girlfriend Ghibli.
- Always Identical Twins: Marco and Polo, Wade's nephews, are identical twins.
- Ambiguous Gender Identity: Played with. While Lake is non-binary, they were accidentally referred to with she/her pronouns in the movie, when Wade mentions "her" girlfriend Ghibli. However, Lake's official pronouns are they/them, as seen in the junior novelization.
- Bourgeois Bohemian: They are a quite wealthy family, but they also care a lot about the arts, and Brook and her children dress in a hippie style, and despite some Innocently Insensitive behavior (mainly from the older generation), not only supports Wade and Ember’s relationship, but seems to be more aware of Fire people’s plight.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Lake appeared in teaser of the film as the water person who was seen putting on lipstick.
- Gender-Blender Name: Wade's sister-in-law Eddy, whose name is traditionally considered to be masculine. It's possibly a nickname, but nothing is confirmed.
- Innocently Insensitive: While Wade's family is very loving and supportive towards his relationship with Ember, it's clear that his relatives have never interacted with fire people in any significant way, especially the older ones. Brook makes a couple of awkward, well-meaning jokes that leave Ember uneasy, the kids try to tip Ember into their indoor pool, and Harold praises her on how "well and clear" she speaks; when she replies with discomfort that she's a native speaker, he realizes what he's just done and cringes in embarrassment.
- Multigenerational Household: The Ripple household contains three generations, with eight members in total.note
- Non-Human Non-Binary: Technically, as Lake is a non-binary water elemental. However, as elementals in general have a male-female gender binary, it functions a bit differently than most versions of this trope.
- Prone to Tears: Just like Wade, they're all prone to bursting into tears, particularly when playing the "Crying Game".
- Shipper on Deck: Despite their Innocently Insensitive tendencies, they are all very supportive of Wade's relationship with Ember.
- Strong Family Resemblance: The fluffy, water foam effect to their hair is a common trait among all the family members, even those who married in.
Others
Clod
Voiced by: Mason Wertheimer
A plant kid who frequently flirts with Ember.
- Advertised Extra: You'd think he was the film's tritagonist from how often he features in advertising, posters, and the early social media runup. He's actually a minor character with no significant role in the story and only a handful of scenes.
- Casanova Wannabe: All three of the scenes with him shows him flirting with fire girls.
- Character Catchphrase: "My queen...", always said when he flirts with Ember (and, at the end of the movie, another fire girl).
- Childish Tooth Gap: Has a noticeable space in between his "teeth".
- Flat Character: He doesn’t have too many defining characteristics beyond his crush on Ember. Even when he does move onto another fire girl, he flirts with her no differently than he would with Ember.
- Green Thumb: He can sprout flowers from his armpits with a bit of effort.
- Has a Type: Between his Precocious Crush on Ember, and his flirting with the younger fire girl at the end of the movie, it seems as though he has a thing for fire women.
- Meaningful Appearance: His head and nose are designed to be shaped similarly to a heart, reflecting his love for Ember.
- Meaningful Name: A clod refers to a small lump of earth. Clod is a short earth elemental.
- Noodle Incident: Ember tells Clod not to let Bernie see him. This implies that Bernie is aware that Clod has been smarting Ember and had him banned from the store in order to make him stop.
- The One Who Wears Shoes: Clod stands out for being the only character in the entire movie to wear shoes on a regular basis.
- Precocious Crush: He is very much younger than Ember, who he flirts with repeatedly. After the climax, he ends up crushing on a younger fire elemental closer to his age.
- Plant Hair: Has some grass on his head that acts as his hair.
Gale Cumulus
Voiced by: Wendi McLendon-Covey
The Air Elemental in charge of maintaining the city's infrastructure.
- Commonality Connection:
- Upon hearing her heartfelt memories of going to games with her father, Ember uses her own deep love of her own father to help bond with Gale in hopes of finding some resolution to the threat of Ember's family shop being closed down.
- She ends up in a romance with Fern, an Earth Elemental and fellow worker in city hall over the man being a Windbreaker fan as well.
- Large and in Charge: Is a huge cloud woman, and is Wade and Fern's boss.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While she at first seems callously dismissive of Ember's woes regarding her dad's shop being shut down, Ember did come to badger her about work-related issues when she is off the clock and trying to enjoy a game that means a lot to her.
- Obsessive Sports Fan: She's a huge fan of the Windbreaker airball team. It's very hard to break her concentration when she's watching the game, and she gets very loud and stormy every time something happens. She asks out Fern the second she learns he's also a Windbreaker fan.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: While initially dismissive of Ember's case as her mind is on her team losing and Ember nearly loses her temper, Gale hears Ember out when she speaks up about the water problem in The Fireplace and agrees to waive the code violations so long as the problem is found and addressed.
- Shipper on Deck: Soon after meeting the leads, she says Wade and Ember make a cute couple. During a later date, she helps Wade take Ember into the flooded Garden Central Station to see the vivisteria flower.
- Shock and Awe: Her body gains an electrical charge when she is in an angry mood. She doesn't hurt anyone with it, though.
Fern Grouchwood
Voiced by: Joe Pera
An Earth Elemental in charge of the processing department at City Hall.- Dull Surprise: Barely shows any reaction to Ember accidentally burning his office.
- Not So Stoic: Normally very emotionless and monotone, but the end credits shows him screaming in the stands at an Air-ball game like any other superfan would.
- Opposites Attract: Ends up in a loving relationship with the loud and lively Gale over their shared love of Air-ball and the Windbreakers.
- Plant Hair: Has a hair made of plants and a mustache made of plants.
- Soul-Crushing Desk Job: Doesn't seem to enjoy his job as a bureaucrat, if his slow movements, lack of expression and bored monotone voice are any indication.Wade: Hey, Fern! How ya doin'?
Fern: Living... the dream... - Unfazed Everyman: Takes getting his office destroyed and all of his hair/leaves burned off from Ember's explosive temper without changing his tone or expression. Though he does send out Ember's tickets to be processed with a little spite.
C.C. Stump
- Voiced by: Ben Morris
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In sort of an All There in the Script example, the film's end credits list him as "Earth Immigration Officer", even though his name tag is clearly visible.
- Nice Guy: Unlike a majority of Element City, he shows no prejudice to Bernie and Cinder.
