Pixar’s Elemental characters remind fans of Fireboy and Watergirl

Pixar announced the title and release date of its next project, Elemental, on Monday. The film, which is due to be released in June 2023, depicts a world in which the classic elements of fire, water and land are the characters who live in that world. This film is a fitting fit for the studio which has made humanoid forms of emotions and souls. Fans were reminded of other favourite elemental duos from film and videogame history by the announcement and accompanying concept art.

If you think these characters look a little familiar, you might not be alone. Many fans are drawing attention to similarities between these characters and the Fireboy/Watergirl games (six in all) that Oslo Albet developed. The first of the cooperative puzzle platformers came out in 2009, and playing the classic Flash game (it’s playable on Coolmath Games) feels like traveling back in time. It’s also on Coolmath’s top ten games, at the time of writing.

Fireboy and Watergirl 1: Forest Temple has that early internet, Flash game sauce. Each level has a series of elemental puzzles that grow increasingly complex. Fireboy cannot activate or traverse red-colored items while Watergirl can. Add in levers, moving platforms, and a few other tricks, and the game grows increasingly challenging. (This is especially true if you, like me, can’t find a friend to play with and operate both the arrow keys and W.A.D. It’s like playing the piano with one hand. I digress.

Of course, the idea of elemental characters isn’t new. Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s characters bend the elements. But film and television history also includes characters that are literal representations of those elements — even if some of them have some other features. This is the Taylor Lautner film The Adventures of Sharkboy , which was released in theaters in 2005..

While Elmental makes us excited for the 2023 version, we also have a good excuse to reflect on some of these 2000 cultural masterpieces.