“Elemental” director Pete Sohn and producers Pete Docter and Denise Ream were on hand at D23 to present the very first look at the latest Pixar original feature, which takes place in Elemental City where earth, air, water, and fire beings co-exist. “Some elements mix with each other, and some don’t,” Sohn said. “What if these elements were alive?” Ethan Anderton described the look as less Metropolis and more “Wet-tropolis,” and says the early animatic footage the filmmakers screened focused on Ember. You can guess what element type she is with a name like Ember, but apparently, it’s not easy being a Fire Type in Elemental City when you’re surrounded by water and plants.

Naturally, Ember (who is designed to look like she’s made of fire, not like she’s on fire) ends up in a meet-cute with Wade, a Water Type, and this “Romeo & Juliet”-style story promises to underline that our differences make us unique and that opposites do indeed attract. Leah Lewis (“The Half of It”) voices Ember and Mamoudou Athie (“Jurassic World Dominion”) voices Wade.

After the unfinished animatic footage ran, the filmmakers screened a clip of Ember and Wade on a date, walking through a park. Wade tries to impress her by running across water, sliding, and creating a romantic rainbow. The D23 audience was also shown some footage of Ember walking through the streets of Elemental City. Above her runs a water subway, the water cascading down the side of the tracks like a sheet. Ember reaches out as though she’d like to touch it, but can’t. Water and fire don’t mix, so how is this love story going to play out? I guess we’ll see next year.