During a conversation with Yahoo Entertainment to promote "Elemental," director Peter Sohn spoke about how the film was inspired by his parents. He said he invited them to an event in the Bronx in New York City following the release of his directorial debut, "The Good Dinosaur." "[I saw] my father, my mother, my brother there, and I could see the city miles of how hard their life was," the director said. "And I got very emotional and I just saw them and just thanked them. 'If it wasn't for all the hard work, all that you guys sacrificed, I would not be here.' I don't remember everything I said 'cause I was so emotional that day."
The emotions he felt in that moment, he said, led directly to the development of "Elemental." "After I got back to the studio after this event, people were like, 'How was this New York thing?'" he said. "And I told them that story and they were like, 'Peter, that's your next movie.' And that was the start of all of this, it became [about] trying to understand our parents as people and the people around us that have sacrificed for us."
Those themes run throughout "Elemental," so it's fitting that Sohn would include a direct dedication to his late parents within the film. It might not be funny like one of Pixar's fake blooper reels would be, but it is a touching and personal tribute from the movie's director that's more personal and special than a typical post-credits sequence would normally be.
Stay through the credits to see Sohn's tribute to his late parents in "Elemental" in theaters now.
