Filipino animator Ronnie del Carmen debuts as a voice actor in Pixar's 'Elemental' movie

Oscar nominee and director Ronnie del Carmen starred in his first major voice-acting role as Bernie Lumen, the father of Ember in Disney/Pixar's Elemental film.

The Cavite-native illustrator impressed film director Peter Sohn and the producers, after having minor voice-over credits in Pixar movies such as Soul and Inside Out.

"I recorded a lot of it at Pixar before the pandemic. Then there were times that it was in the spare bedroom upstairs of my house. The final ones, it's doing a lot of the lines over and over again at the recording booth." he said.

The University of Santo Tomas alumnus expressed that he relates to the story so much and believes it was almost a tailor fit for him as a Filipino immigrant.

"Being an immigrant, being a father, being a son myself, living in another country from where I was born, and struggling to try and make it and having all these very, these family issues that come up," he shared.

"These are the things that Bernie goes through. So I felt very close to what Bernie was going through in the story and it was almost a default that I can rely on," Ronnie added. 

When asked if he will accept more voice-over jobs, Ronnie said: "If you'll hire me, I'll do it."

After working for years in Pixars, Ronnie moved to Netflix in 2021. He is known for co-directing Inside Out with Pete Docter which won the 2016 Oscar and Golden Globe best animated picture winner. His other animated films include Soul, Monsters University, Toy Story 4, Coco, Incredibles 2, and more. 

Set in a world inhabited by elements of nature—earth, air, fire, water—Elemental tells the story of a family who migrated to a faraway place after their home was destroyed.

Distrusting of water elements, the Lumens have a daughter named Ember, voiced by Leah Lewis, who eventually pairs up with a sappy water element named Wade, played by Mamoudou Athie. Ember pursues her glassmaking studies far away from Fire City.