Ember Lumen

“*I don't think I actually do want to run the shop, okay? That's what my temper has been trying to tell me . . . I'm trapped. You know what's crazy? Even when I was a kid, I would pray to the blue flame to be good enough to fill my father's shoes someday because this place is his dream. But I never once asked . . . what I wanted to do. I think that's because deep down, I knew it didn't matter. Because the only way to repay a sacrifice so big is by sacrificing your life, too.*”
―Ember Lumen to Wade Ripple

**Ember Lumen** is the main protagonist of 2023 animated feature film, *Elemental*. She’s described as a fiery Firish young woman. She's the only daughter of Bernie and Cinder Lumen, Fireland immigrants. She dreams of taking over her father's convenience store, The Fireplace after her father retires. When her explosive temper bursts the pipes, Ember works with Wade Ripple, a go-with-the-flow water guy to repair the pipes and prevent the Fireplace from being shut down. During the adventure, Ember slowly realizes that she may not want to run the fire shop and pursue a new dream, with help from her newfound friendship and blossoming romance with Wade.

## Background

“*Ember Lumen is a clever fire woman with a great sense of humor who can be hot-headed at times. What she lacks in patience she more than makes up for in love for her family. As the only child of immigrant parents, Ember is keenly aware of how much they sacrificed to give her a better life. She's determined to prove herself to them and looks forward to taking over the family business, Fireplace, when her father, Bernie, retires.*”

### Personality

Ember is a kind and hard-working young woman. She respects and loves her family unconditionally, she is aware of how much her parents sacrificed for her and is ready to repay their sacrifices, so she has always helped her father in Fireplace. However, Ember has her flaws, she has a really hot temper, and this causes her to turn purple and create explosions. Also, she can be indecisive and fearful when it comes to choosing between her family's dreams and her own dreams.

Her hot temper is more evidence when it comes to something that has to do with her family's shop. She gets frustrated with some customers' behavior and gets impatient with their negligence. Her fiery temper also gives her problems to connect with others. Ember's fire becomes purplish whenever she gets angry.

Ember rarely gets sad under most circumstances in the movie. But when she does, she almost never drops a tear. Instead, Ember's fire will radiate rainbowy glow as if her light gets refracted by water. This sorrowful appearance is most obvious during the scene when Ember grieved after Wade submitted Ember's shop citations in the City Hall. However, the movie depicts Ember crying for the first time during The Crying Game at Wade's apartment. Her tear resembles fire and sizzlingly evaporates upon contact with water.

### Prejudice

Because she and her family suffered prejudice from being fire elements, Ember never interacted with non-fire elements, except for her neighbor Clod.

#### Vivisteria Flower Incident

When Ember was almost 5 years old, she really wanted to see a Vivisteria and got in line to do so. But, her family was rejected due to them being fire.

#### Harold Ripple Incident

During her first time with the Ripples, Harold assumed Ember's native language was Firish (Ts’íts’àsh) and that she wasn't born in Element City. Ember however managed to embarrass Harold in the process.

### Romantic Development

Wade and Ember’s first meeting wasn't very friendly, as Wade reported several problems in The Fireplace and their first interactions together are to work together to save Fireplace from being condemned and fixing the damaged dam. But as they spend more time together, Ember gets more open to non-fire elements and falls in love with Wade, and he for her. Her love for Wade helped her control her hot temper and she became happier, but at the same time she had to keep her dates with him a secret, knowing her parents wouldn't approve it. She was skeptical on trying to touch hands with Wade, afraid that it will harm them, but when she gives in, the two were so happy to see they could touch after all and danced together.

With these new experiences, Ember discovers her true talent and passion: glassmaking. An example of her talent is when she fixes a pitcher that Alan accidentally shatters. She also realizes she doesn't want to run her father's shop, but her fears of letting her family down overtakes her, to the point that she denies Wade her feelings for him and sends him away, which hurts and disappoints him. After Wade accidentally revealed that she damaged the pipes in the Fireplace's basement and Bernie renounces his retirement, Ember is very sad and considers herself a terrible daughter. When Fire Town is about to get flooded, Ember rushed to warn the citizens and her parents, showing she is willing to save her family no matter what and, even after what she said to him, Wade returned to help her without hesitating, and she was really happy to see him. When the two got blocked off in the store's back alcove with the steam pipe blocked off, Wade started to evaporate due to the heat, Ember wanted to get out to save him, but he refused, knowing she would get extinguished. So Ember finally confessed her love for Wade and apologized for not saying it earlier. He forgives her and the two hugged as Wade evaporates.

Only after Wade evaporated, a tearful Ember realized how much she loves him as she finally admits to her father that she doesn't want to run the shop. While releasing stress, Bernie assured her that *she* is the real dream, not the shop. Upon realizing Wade's moisture was on the stone ceiling of the alcove, she makes him cry by playing his family's crying game, and after making him drip out of the ceiling and he reforms, Ember and Wade kissed and she finally gets to do what she wants. Now Ember lives happier with Wade, she works with making glass and does what she loves, but she still loves her family deeply.

### Physical appearance

Ember is a young and attractive woman who, befitting to her type of element, is completely made out of bright flames. The flames themselves form a rather slender body - though the lower part is noticeably wider and more shapely, thus resulting her to have a rather thin waist and thick thighs.

Her sharp eyebrows sport a gradient which consists of fire colors, and she also possesses a small horn-shaped nose, thin fire-orange lips and hooded-eyes with the irises having a red-orange gradient with dark wine-red pupils and fairly thick, carmine-red eyelashes that possesses noticeable purple tips.

In terms of attire, Ember sports clothing that is noticeably fireproof; she wears a sleeveless, shimmering, two-piece black dress with a crisscross design - her crop-top sporting an attached hood which she sometimes puts on for protection. At times, she wears an indigo hoodie with a similar design over her outfit.

When she was an infant, Ember is naturally small in size, with her nose not yet being pointed and her eyes not protruding any eyelashes. Her eyebrows are shown to be thinner.

When she was a toddler, Ember sport a short figure who's head becomes slightly bigger, and her eyelashes were starting to grow. Her attire is that of a dress similar to the one she currently wears, only it is a one-piece dress that sport a simpler design.

When she got a bit older, Ember's appearance is nearly the same, with the exception of being taller in size.

From the beginning of the movie when she is a late teenager, Ember wears a dress similar to her current dress, only it doesn't have the hood attached at the back. She also wears a pale yellow apron over it, which she wears when working at The Fireplace.

During the ceremony for Bernie's retirement, Ember wore a transparent red shawl with multiple colorful stone designs on it, which she wore over her regular outfit.

In the climax of the movie, Ember wears a dark purple hoodie-jacket with pink inner lining over her regular outfit, which she wears due to when she and Wade embarked for Ember's internship location.

## Role in the film

After her parents Bernie and Cinder immigrated to Element City, they suddenly gave birth to Ember and later built their own store, the Fireplace where Ember grows up in her family's business. At a young age, Ember began to work with her father to contribute to her family's business in serving products for fire elements who enter the store and keeping out any non-fire elements out of the store such as two water elements interacting with fire products at the store, which Ember furiously tells them they will pay if they splash water on fire products in their store, driving them away. Ember asks her father if she can contribute to her family's shop, which her father tells her that she can run it if she is ready.

Later, Ember makes kol-nuts for the customers and as she asks her father that there are customers at the store, he tells her that she take her father's duty in working at the store this time. Upon talking to a fire customer, he asks Ember if he gets one free sparkler without buying one individual sparkler, which she replies to him that he must buy a sparkler in order to get another one for free, not understanding how the offer to obtain a free sparkler works. Frustrated that the customer does not understand about the offer, Ember loses her temper, causing her father to hear the commotion. During a private conversation with her father, Bernie tells his daughter that not all customers who talk to her are tough to deal with, advising her to control her temper in order for Ember to take care of her family's shop.

Several years later, Ember deals with a customer who is complaining that she cannot afford a product, which doesn't remind her from Fireland. As Ember tries her best to calm herself, she ends up losing her temper again, much to Flarry and Flarrietta worried about the temper they heard. Bernie approaches his daughter and tells her to practice controlling her temper more just before Ember tells her father to get some rest after and after Flarrietta asks Bernie to know when he will retire, he asks her that he would retire when his daughter Ember is ready to run her family's business. Ember asks her father that she might not make deliveries by herself like she did in the past, although she tries to get used to making deliveries independently without hurting her father's feelings.

As Ember enters the matchmaking room to get the deliveries ready, she encounters her mother who tells her to work with her in the room, which she tells her that she is doing her father's job. As she leaves, she encounters Clod who attempts to talk to her, only for Ember to reply, telling her that she is busy as well telling Clod to not let her father catch him. As Ember decides not to go to the festival with Clod due to her busy schedule, she continues doing her delivery duty to the residents of Firetown. After doing the delivery, Ember returns to the Fireplace planning approaching her father who tells her that he is too old to continue his life working at the Fireplace, telling her that there is only one thing she hasn't done yet, prioritizing her to get ready for Red Dot Sale at the Fireplace without losing her temper, which Ember accepts.

The next day, Ember becomes overwhelmed with too many customers in the store, so she rushes to the basement and bursts into rage, causing a water pipe to break. This, however, results in a leak from the pipes, where she encounters a water element named Wade Ripple, who recaps that he was searching for a leak on the other side of the river and got sucked into the pipe, which he ended up in the Fireplace. Ember tells Wade to get out of the place so that Ember can clean up the mess she made before her father notices. Wade explains to Ember that he is a city inspector, trying to make sure the place is solid, which Ember replies that everything is solid, telling Wade that her father built everything himself. Fearing that Wade might shut down the Fireplace, Ember tells him that she has a job to do at the store just before Wade returns to City Hall, much to Ember trying to stop him from reaching City Hall to send a ticket to the processing department.

Ember became worried that the Fireplace is her father's dream and if it gets shut down, he might lose his job, which Wade decides to help Ember save her family's business from being shut down. Wade brings Ember to Fern Grouchwood's office at City Hall. Wade asks Ember to tell him about his father and why she let him down, which Ember refuses, thinking that sharing this information is too personal. As Wade tells Fern about the problems Ember and her family business in danger, the latter goes into a full rage, burning the vegetation inside Fern's office, just as Fern fears that he might be leaving early, telling her to expect that her family's business might shut down in one week just as Fern hands her a brochure about the Fireplace being shut down.

As Ember returns to the Fireplace, she noticed that the store is closed due to a pipe leak that occurred at the basement spreading water where she recaps that Wade broke through a broken pipe, telling her father that she couldn't catch him, which Bernie replies to her that water is a threat to fire. Cinder recaps to her daughter that there was a reason why she and her husband left Fireland, explaining that most residents from Fireland had a Blue Flame, which connected the fire people together through their traditions and their families. After Cinder tells a story to her daughter of why she and Bernie had to leave Fireland to find a safe place in Element City, Ember approaches her father, telling him that nothing will happen to the Fireplace nor the Blue Flame again, just as Bernie praises Ember for being a good daughter (Then she agreed for herself not to tell her father that the shop will be shut down in a week, because that could disturb him, and beacuse this is a matter between Ember and Wade).

Back at City Hall, Wade passes by Ember who tells her that Gale is not present today, because she is watching her favorite team the Windbreakers doing playoffs at the Cyclone Stadium where the two arrive to talk to Gale about Ember's family business being shut down. As Ember attempts to talk to Gale who is furious that her favorite team is losing to the Cropdusters, she introduces herself to the latter about her family running a shop while Wade wrote thirty citations to Gale, unaware that there is a game going on at the Stadium, only for Ember to intercept and argue with Gale telling her about her family's business being shut down. However, Ember's argument with Gale becomes interrupted when Wade pointed out that Lutz, one of the Windbreakers players, is feeling sad after his mother was sick as Wade and the other spectators spell out a cheer for Lutz so that the Windbreakers would win the game; Lutz was able to make his team win the game.

After the game, Ember talks with Gale, who discusses with Ember that her favorite team winning at the Cyclone Stadium means a little bit more for her, while Ember replies about her the water problem at her father's shop. Gale replies to Ember that the water was shut off years ago, planning to repossess the Fireplace to figure out what is going on with the leak problem, just before Wade tells Gale that he and Ember could find the source of the leak inside the Fireplace. Gale gives the two a deal that if the two could find the source of the leak and then hire a crew to fix the leak, the citations sent to her will be forgiven and if not, Gale will shut down the Fireplace. Back at Firetown, Ember tells Wade to keep out of sight while Ember hears her father complaining about a leak upstairs, which Wade warns Ember that since the water returned to Firetown, the pressure is forcing it up to all the pipes, planning the find the source of the leak while telling Wade of how he ended up at the Fireplace.

After Wade recaps of how he ended up in the Fireplace, Ember realizes that his temper caused this incident, realizing that the water in the canals go everywhere, making the leak problem more difficult. Ember creates a hot air balloon to show Wade the canals where the water came from just as she tells him that her father Bernie is retiring from his job and that she will take over when she is ready while Wade shared a story that after his father passed away, he started going from one job to another. As they pass through the Garden Central Station, Ember recaps that when she was little, her father would take her there, because they had a Vivisteria tree which Ember always wanted to see as the Vivisteria flower is the only flower that can thrive in any environment. During the flashback, Ember wanted to see the flower and her father became very angry with the policy that prohibits fire elements into entering the Station and when the building flooded a few years later, Ember missed her chance to see a Vivisteria. Ember talks about her frustrations with Wade that she cannot connect with one customer and her temper always serves as the challenge for fire elements living in Element City. Just as Ember and Wade land at the canals to find the source of the water, the two notice a ship passing through, spreading water onto the canals, which Ember and Wade work together to stop the water from flowing through the door by placing sandbags to stop the leak from flowing. Upon doing so, Wade decides to hire a city crew and just as Ember leaves, Wade reminds her that he will wait for her at the Alkali Theater tomorrow.

The next day, Ember fixes up the pipes at the Fireplace just before leaving the store to catch up with Wade at the Alkali Theater to watch a movie with him during the "Steal the Show" sequence where Ember starts a relationship with Wade throughout the montage. After the montage, Ember's body turns green when she steps on a green crystal before she explains that the minerals are the ones making her change colors just as Ember interacts with the crystals that make her change colors as her unique ability, while Wade shows her his unique ability in running and rushing through the water. Later, Ember returns to her father's store where she notices another leak from one of the pipes inside the building, which she patches. She then engages in a private conversation with Wade who warns her that the sandbags did not patch up the leak as well as recapping that the last time he saw his fellow crew at the canal, the construction foreman became furious with Wade for knocking three tons of cement dust, causing Wade's crew to become furious of him for this, much to Ember worried about Gale's deadline occurring tomorrow. Later when Bernie sees Wade and accuses him of starting the leak, Ember tells her father is a diferent guy, and Wade tells her father, he is a food inspector (when Bernie noticed his name tag, and asked him he's a city inspector) just as he samples the food Bernie gives him for a taste test. After Bernie bans Wade for using his water to extinguish fire on his food, Ember privately tells Wade to meet her at the beach to make more sandbags.

At the beach, Ember is helping Wade fill sandbags to prevent the water in the canal from flowing while Wade approaches Ember who thinks everything is hopeless for her throughout her life. Later, Wade realizes that the fire from Ember absorbing the sand made it turn into glass, just as she creates an orb made of glass, where a Vivisteria flower forms inside the glass. Back at the canal, Ember uses her fiery ability to seal the door by making a glass wall, which successfully prevents the water from flowing through the door, much to Ember feeling satisfied of her innovative creativity just before Wade decides to talk to Gale after work. Just before leaving, Wade hands Ember the Vivisteria flower orb she left at the beach while Ember returns to her father's shop. Back home, Bernie sees that Ember is happy and calmer in taking care of the customers in his shop, happy that he can trust his daughter. Holding the brochure, and seeing the photo of Wade placed on the bulletin board showcasing customers who were banned from the store, Ember decides to catch up with him.

As Ember follows Wade into his family apartment, the two of them are accepted to visit while Wade introduces Ember to his family members within the apartment. During dinner with Wade's family, Ember uses her fiery ability to repair a broken pitcher which Alan accidentally broke, impressing Wade's relatives who praise her for her unique talents. During the Crying Game, Wade tells Ember that the light inside her made him feel like that he wants her to be near him, making her shed a tear of fire for the first time. After Wade receives a call from Gale who noticed the glass made by Ember on the canal and planned to cancel the tickets, Ember feels happy that her plan was a success just as she burns the brochure, happy that her family's store will not by shut down for the rest of her life.

Just before leaving, Brook shows Ember the pitcher that she repaired, impressed by her talent, explaining that she has a friend who runs the best glassmaking firm in the world, explaining that Brook's friend is looking for an intern, which would give Ember an amazing opportunity, telling her that she has a bright future in her. Upon exiting the apartment, Ember feels uncomfortable that Brook offered her a job at a faraway city just as she shares her thoughts with Wade of the challenges she faces during her life in her father's shop. Cinder notices Ember getting attracted to Wade, scolding her that the elements of fire and water are not compatible with each other and fire elements cannot mix with other elements.

At the matchmaking area at the Fireplace, Cinder tests Ember and Wade to know if they are a perfect match. Wade uses his body to allow Ember's light to shine through his body, aiming the unlit stick, much to Cinder's surprise just before Bernie hears his wife; Ember tells Wade to leave to avoid getting noticed by her father. Bernie then reveals to his wife and Ember that he will retire in two days, recapping to them that he gave his father the biggest bow just before he and his wife left, telling them that the residents of Fireland were never got to see that he never forgot that he and his wife are fire elements, the burden that Bernie carries. Bernie then reveals a sign saying that the shop will soon belong to Ember just before Cinder takes her husband to rest.

The next day, Ember approaches Wade who shows her a flooded tunnel leading to the main terminal located at the closed Garden Central Station area, where they meet Gale inside. When Ember mentioned about her desperately seeing a Vivisteria flower, Wade asks Gale to help Ember see one, which Gale creates an air bubble for twenty minutes that surrounds her without getting herself extinguished by the water, as Wade guides Ember across the flooded Garden Central Station.

With assistance from Wade, Ember sees a Vivisteria flower that blooms, as well as a Vivisteria tree full of flowers that bloom, happy that she was able to see the flowers that bloomed in the area just as the air bubble starts running out of air, leading Wade to bring Ember back to the surface. Upon exiting the surface, Ember feels satisfied that she finally saw a Vivisteria. Wade attempts to touch Ember's hand, but the latter refuses, fearing that it would be a disaster and he could extinguish her, but to her courage, it worked, causing Ember and Wade's hands to touch each other as both of them fall in love together. After their relationship, Ember becomes worried that he must return to her father's shop to continue her life. During an argument between her and Wade, Ember becomes upset, revealing that she is who she is and what her family is, refusing to sacrifice all of that for Wade just before she furiously leaves for Firetown.

During the grand reopening of the Fireplace, Ember approaches her father who is proud to have her become the new owner of the store, which he passes the Blue Flame to her, only for Wade to approach Ember where Wade interrupts the ceremony, which Bernie realizes that Wade is the same person whom he banned from the store and after Wade reveals that he touched Ember, changing each other's chemistry, much to Bernie who is very furious, asking Wade what kind of a food inspection is this (that means, what in the flame is going on here?) and Wade told Bernie that is a food inspection of the heart, then Bernie asked Wade who is he, and Wade told him that is just a guy who burst into Ember's life in a flooded old basement then Bernie accused him for causing a leak onto the pipes at the store again, before Wade unintentionally reveals that Ember was the one who caused the incident just as Wade tells her that he loves her, which Ember refuses to accept, much to Cinder's disappointment. When Ember's father already noticed the truth about the store being flooded by her temper and that she have been seeing "Water" (Wade) in a week, he scolds his daughter for the actions she made, renouncing his retirement as well as telling Ember that she will *not* take over his shop, even though she doesn't want to (If Ember would be brave to tell her father the reason why she chased Wade because the shop was about to be shut down in a week ago and she found the origin of the water leaks, everything would make sense to Bernie).

Disheartened by this and everything else that happened to her, Ember remembers the moments she had with Wade before she broke up with him. However, she suddenly hears the dam about to burst, destroying the glass wall that she made, which results in a large flood that approaches Firetown. Fearing that her father's shop will be destroyed, Ember warns her parents that there is a flash flood coming just as Ember decides to protect the Blue Flame from being splashed inside the store. Wade later returns to stop the flood from destroying the store while Ember creates a glass wall using sandbags to keep the water away from the Blue Flame. As the flood pushed Ember and Wade into the matchmaking area, Wade hands Ember a lantern with the Blue Flame in it as she emotionally notices Wade who is evaporating just as he completely evaporates from the heat in order for Ember to save the shop.

After the flood, Ember mourns of Wade's sacrifice for her, claiming to her father it was all her fault and the store was his dream instead of hers. Bernie assures his daughter that she was always the dream just as Ember's parents reconcile with their daughter. However, water begins dripping from the ceiling, causing Ember to remember and do the Crying Game that Wade taught her. As Cinder accepts Wade being the perfect match for Ember, Bernie lifts Wade's ban from the store, telling him that he is no longer banned. All of a sudden, Wade emerges from the ceiling as he is shown to be alive, just as he reconciles with Ember, falling in love with each other again.

Months later, Ember enters the newly-rebuilt Fireplace where she approaches her parents just before Wade enters, telling her that it is time to leave. Ember and Wade, now a couple, are seen preparing to leave Element City where Ember approaches her father, telling him that the glassmaking company that Brook was talking about is far away from Element City, just as Bernie tells her to start a new life. Ember leaves Element City with Wade so she can study glassmaking and travel the world together.

## Trivia

* Ember Lumen is the sixth female protagonist in a Pixar feature film after Merida from *Brave*, Joy from *Inside Out*, Dory from *Finding Dory*, Elastgirl from *Incredibles 2*, and Mei Lee from *Turning Red*. She is also the fourth one to be the protagonist of an original film, as *Finding Dory* is both the second installments of their respective franchises.
	+ She is also the second female protagonist in a Pixar feature film after Elastigirl and first one to be the protagonist of an original film to have an love interest.
* Her name "Ember" means "a small piece of fire, flame burning, glowing in coal, or wood smoldering in ashes".
* David J. Peterson and Jesse Sams, the creators of Traditional Firish proposed a Firish name for Ember being "k'áìshí" meaning "small coal" or "ember".
* Her family name "Lumen" means "light" in Latin, which is also references to the measurement of light, being the amount of fire/lumens.
* In the teaser trailer, Ember is shown listening to *Hell N Back* by Bakar (warning, drug reference!).
* Ember seems to carry always an umbrella with her to protect herself from any water that may be splashed onto her intentionally or unintentionally.
* Ember so far is the only fire person to have almost gone full purple. Purple is the color that the fire people turn into when in a state of anger.
* Ember's story is largely based off of director Peter Sohn's own life story. He is a child of immigrant parents, faced discrimination and prejudice in his home city, and grew up in his father's grocery store.
* Ember's design and figure bear a resemblance to Flame Princess from *Adventure Time*, who is voiced by Jessica DiCicco.
	+ Flame Princess' father: Flame King is voiced by Keith David, who voiced Goliath in *Gargoyles*, and Dr. Facilier in *The Princess and the Frog*.
* Ember also has the same first name as Ember McLain, a female ghost character with blue fiery hair from *Danny Phantom*, who is voiced by Tara Strong.
	+ There is also another character who is named Princess Ember, voiced by Ali Milner, from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a blue dragon princess hailed from Dragon Lands. Coincidentally, they have their determined and short tempered nature, as well their ability to produce fire.
* Ember Lumen has some similarities by appearance, personality and colors with Sunset Shimmer, voiced by Rebecca Shoichet, a character from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls franchise:
	+ Both Ember and Sunset have severe anger problems whenever they get stressed out in difficult situations.
	+ Their primary colors consists of red, orange and yellow while wearing black clothing, with Ember wearing her black dress shimmering dress while Sunset mainly wears her black jacket throughout the franchise.
	+ Both of them were possessed by their negative behavior in the beginning, with Ember being sarcastic and short-tempered, while Sunset being evil and cold-hearted, later, they both redeemed themselves from their emotional problems.
	+ Ember and Sunset involved in a relationship with their soft, kind and cool-looking boyfriends, Wade Ripple and Flash Sentry, while involving in a romantic conflict.
	+ Their names are heavily based on heat, sun and light.
	+ Notably, the most impactful connection between the two is bisexuality. Although Ember is not shown to be bisexual like Sunset Shimmer does, her voice actor, Leah Lewis, previously had a role of Ellie Chu from 2020 Netflix film "Half of It", where she has feelings on one of her girl friends.
	+ Ember Lumen in Elemental similar Mavis in Hotel Transylvania.

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/isitlunchyet\_t/status/1176912630914506753