CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A creative spirit who believes in herself, learns to love and isn’t afraid to make her dreams come true.
Not only is that the theme behind Disney and Pixar’s new animated film “Elemental,” which opens Friday in theaters, but it also mirrors the story of Hinckley native Anna Wolfe who worked as a resident technical director on the film.
Two decades after discovering the magic of Pixar watching “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life” on VHS, the 2015 Highland High School and 2019 Ohio State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering finds it surreal to be a part of the dream factory.
“It’s like engrained in my brain seeing the (Pixar) Luxo lamp jump on the ‘I’ five times,” said Wolfe, during a recent chat.
“You knew you were about to be taken to another universe, another realm of just beautiful storytelling. That was a huge part of my childhood growing up.”
Naturally the quintessential story about someone growing up to work in animated film stemmed from a love of the art.
That’s the case for Wolfe, whose love of the arts was based around dance. In fact, that was something she even considered pursuing in college.
However, it was during her junior year in high school that the advanced math student on the advice of a teacher decided to study computer science, specializing in computer graphics and gaming.
“I grew up a dancer who was always taken by storytelling,” she said. “My dancing was all about the stories that you tell with your movement. I felt there were a lot of parallels between animated film and how the characters move and exude different emotions on screen.
“That’s where my interests really connected. I always knew that I wanted to be a part of the stories that go on screen but never really knew how I could fit into that. Now I’m able to fulfill that creative side and also that technical side of my brain so it’s really like a perfect blend of the two working at Pixar.”
After interning as a Pixar software engineer in 2018, Wolfe moved to Los Angeles straight out of college, working more than three years at Walt Disney Studios before relocating north in 2021 to the San Francisco-area-based Lucasfilm.
She joined Pixar last year with her first full-length feature project being “Elemental.”
Technically, Wolfe as a resident technical director is part of a global technology team whose responsibilities are to support different departments (lighting, effects, etc.) by building tools for use with Pixar’s in-house software.
Now, if you ask Wolfe what she does, she’ll say, it’s problem-solving.
“Yes, all of the time,” she laughed. “There’s always a new problem we have to solve.”
Disney and Pixar’s new animated film “Elemental,” which opens Friday in theaters. (Courtesy of Disney/Pixar)PIXAR
Directed by Peter Sohn, “Elemental” is set in Element City where fire, water, earth and air residents live together.
The story introduces Ember (Leah Lewis), a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade (Mamoudou Athie) challenges her beliefs about the world they live in and the person she wants to be.
“I love the film,” she said. “I connect with the story a lot. My partner and I, we come from different cultures.
“My partner’s family is from Mexico. My parents are from the States and my grandparents are from Poland. So there’s definitely that beautiful blend of cultures that I experience in my own life.”
Disney and Pixar’s new animated film “Elemental,” which opens Friday in theaters. (Courtesy of Disney/Pixar)PIXAR
While “Elemental” is unique for speaking to the immigrant experience using groundbreaking animation depicting fire and water as characters, there’s a rom-com element where opposites not only attract but love helps change their chemistry.
“This story is well executed in the fact that it shows how well opposites complement each other,” she said. “It also celebrates the differences. I really connected with the film because my partner and I are very different but we’re also very similar.
“I think our differences are what makes us work. Like Ember, it took me some time to accept that so the film is close to my heart. Me and my partner, we’re out here living our dreams and the first Pixar film I get to work on resonates with us. It’s pretty special.”
Up next for Wolfe is working on “Inside Out 2,” which is due out next year, and furthering a career she hopes brings her more leadership roles.
What’s apparent in both Wolfe’s life and the film is the power of STEAM -- science, technology, English, art and math -- curriculum.
“It’s important that people know there’s a career in STEM in the entertainment industry because if you’re not told that when you’re young, you don’t realize there are opportunities,” she said.
“It seems so like a pipedream to be an animator or artist but there are other avenues in the technical world that it’s important to be exposed to at a young age. For kids who really love math or physics, those things apply when making stories. Every voice is heard.”
As for what an elementary school-age Wolfe would think about a future career taking her to infinity and beyond, the emotions of such a journey were obvious.
“Oh, man, she would not believe that I would be here,” she said. “Just thinking about it makes me tear up a little bit.
“Hopefully a little girl will read this article and be like, ‘Wow, I can do this too.’ I hope to inspire other kids.”