Wade Ripple

“*When I met you I thought I was drowning. But that light... That light inside you has made me feel so alive. And all I want now is to be near it. Near you. Together.*”
―Wade Ripple to Ember Lumen
**Wade Ripple** is the deuteragonist of animated feature film, *Elemental*. Described as a go-with-the-flow guy, Wade works as a city inspector for Element City. When he got stuck inside a clogged pipe while searching for a leak, an explosion from Firetown unclogs the pipes and sucks Wade into the basement of the Fireplace where he encounters Ember Lumen, an employee. Upon inspection, Wade discovers that the Fireplace's pipes aren't up to code and those violations can result in the Fireplace's shut down. Feeling sympathy for Ember, Wade works with her to fix the leak and save the Fireplace from closure while at the same time, falling in love with her.

## Background

“*Wade Ripple is not afraid to show his emotions—in fact, his emotions are hard to miss. An empathetic, 20-something water guy, Wade is observant, a good listener and literally bubbling with compassion for others. He is close with his family—a lively and strangely weepy bunch who seek out opportunities to share their feelings.*”

### Personality

Wade is a go-with-the-flow guy, he is nice, social and enthusiastic. He is also very sensitive and cries for many things, something his family also has. He has a close relationship with his family, well mostly.

### Past Trauma

#### Sponge Incident

When Wade was 5 and at school, he saw a sponge being simply left on the floor and tried to help by putting it back up, but as a result he got sucked into a sponge. He was later found by another teacher, but it was after recess so he was stuck in the sponge for hours.

Dewey was telling 5 year old Wade that he was a "big boy" and to be "strong", which Wade could not do, as he was just being himself.

#### Mambo Incident

When Wade was 16, Dewey was forcing Wade into a waveball tryout, and Wade missed it because he overheard a marching band practicing ‘Monsoon Mambo’ which was his favorite song. After an argument about how Wade should stick to his interests, Dewey died. Dewey and Wade couldn't agree on anything, and now Wade regrets not having enjoyed his time with his father while he was alive.

### Romantic Development

As of his attitude towards Ember, their first meeting wasn't very friendly and very far from ideal, as Wade ended up in the Fireplace by accident after Ember lost her temper and ended up reporting several problems in the shop, resulting in a pursue from Ember to stop Wade, who didn't want to lose another job, from reporting the inconsistencies he had found. After hearing about Ember's story, he went to help her, eventually teaming up to not only save the Fireplace, but also fixing a damaged dam that could put in danger a part of Firetown and its inhabitants, including her parents.

After they made a temporary fix on the dam, giving time for it to be fixed, Wade, who developed an interest in Ember, took the first step in their relationship by asking her out. As they spend more time together, Wade fell in love with Ember and she with him. He was so in love with Ember that he would constantly talk about her to his family. When he learned Ember didn't actually want to run the Fireplace, he supported her, incentivizing her to follow her own dreams. Wade has shown to love Ember with all his heart and willing to do anything to make her happy, as he took her to the flooded Garden Central so she could see the Vivisteria, a flower she have always wanted to see since she was a kid, and decided to take the risk and try to touch her, despite the danger of being evaporated by her (and though she was skeptical on trying to touch hands with Wade as well), but when she gives in, the two were so happy to see they could touch after all and danced together.

But Wade becomes disappointed in Ember when she still decided to run her father's shop even when they both knew she didn't want to do it, as she breaks up with him for not understanding due to the differences they possessed regarding their culture and upbringing. But Wade refused to give up on his love for Ember, being willing to fight for the love existing between them and for her happiness. This is shown when he came to the ceremony for Bernie's retirement and Ember's inheritance of the store and confessed to Ember his love for her, but she was so scared to let her family down that she rejected him, especially with anger towards him after he accidentally reveals that Ember damaged the pipes in the basement. That moment shattered Wade's heart in such manner that he gave the glass flower back to her and leaves, deciding to travel the world after her rejection. However, when he saw Fire Town was flooding, Wade rushed to help Ember without hesitation, showing that even after she broke his heart, he still loved her and didn't want anything happen to her.

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 generated by Ember herself and the blue flame. Ember wanted to get out to save him, but he refused, knowing she would get extinguished, showing Wade was willing to sacrifice himself for Ember. 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.

Wade also mentioned that "[she] gave me something people search for their whole lives". He most likely refers to giving him a purpose in life.

Ember and her family realized Wade's moisture was on the stone ceiling of the alcove, so she played the crying game, making him drip out of the ceiling and reform, then he and Ember resume their relationship with a romantic kiss. Wade chooses to travel with Ember as she begins to work as an intern for the glassmaking company recommended by his mother.

### Physical appearance

Wade is a young man who, befitting to his type of element, is completely made out of translucent blue water. The water forms a slightly pudgy body that is much taller than Ember's body, with waves that resemble hair on top of his head and both rather small arms and small feet.

His eyebrows are a cerulean-blue color, and he also possesses a small round nose and eyes with the irises sporting a gradient of two shades of blue, followed by darker-colored pupils.

For clothing, Wave wears a purple T-shirt with white trim around the collar, bottom and darker-colored sleeves - the sleeves themselves having white stripe on them. The shirt also includes tiny water droplet patterns which are printed all over the front.

As an inspector, Wave sports casual business attire - consisting of a pale yellow polo shirt with thin, wavy white stripes, along with a necktie that sports a light purple and light blue gradient, and a tag worn on the left side.

When he was still a child, Wave's body was more pudgier in appearance, and the waves on his head are noticeably shorter. In terms of attire, He wore a set of pale yellow overalls with silver buttons holding the straps.

Near the end of the film, Wade wore a high-collared, green and yellow jacket with a wavy pink stripe on the front and a small "Sea breaker" graphic located on the upper right, which he wears due to when he and Ember embarked for Ember's internship location.

## Role in the film

After Ember Lumen lost her temper at the basement causing a leak at the Fireplace, she encounters Wade, 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 this place. Ember tells Wade to get out of the place so that Ember can clean up the mess she made before her father Bernie 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 Element City, just as Ember chases Wade across the city as Wade arrives at City Hall to send a ticket to the processing department. He then hears Ember worried that the Fireplace is her father's dream and her father Bernie would lose his job if his shop goes out of business.

Wade explains to Ember that he can help her save her family's store from being shut down, as he brings her to Fern Grouchwood at his office. Upon approaching Wade about the citations he gave from Firetown, which Fern replies to Wade that he was about to send them to Gale Cumulus and then get sprayed for fungus rot. 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 asks Fern about Ember's family business being shut down, the latter goes into full rage, burning the vegetation inside, just before Fern warns Ember to expect her family's business to shut down in one week.

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 at the Cyclone Stadium where the two arrive to talk to Gale about Ember's family business being shut down. Arriving at the Stadium, Wade watches the Windbreakers who are losing to the Cropdusters while Ember discusses with Gale about her family's business being shut down while Wade filed in thirty citations to Gale; Wade later finds that why the Windbreakers are losing to the Cropdusters is because one of the players, Lutz, is feeling sad after his mother was sick. In order for Lutz's team to win, Wade encourages Lutz to help win the game, alongside other spectators who also cheer for Lutz, just as Lutz becomes determined enough to win the game, causing the Windbreakers to win the game.

After the game, Wade approaches Gale, recapping that he was trying to find the leak problem in Element City at the canal and got sucked into the Fireplace so that he and Ember could track the water to find the source of the leak. 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 her father's shop. Back at Firetown, 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. Wade recaps that he was in the canals checking the door for leaks and upon finding the water on the flat ground absorbed with rust with a hint of motor oil, the rushing water came and caught Wade, causing him to be sucked into a filtering system and heard Ember's rage exploding at the basement at the Fireplace, causing him to end up into the area. After Wade recaps of how he ended up in at the Fireplace, Ember realizes that her 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 him the canals where the water came from. Wade shares his 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 where she and her father faced the challenges where about the policies prohibiting fire elements from entering. Wade shares his thoughts that when he loses his temper, he thinks that it tries to tell him something he is not ready to hear just before Wade shows her the canals where the source of the water came from. Wade explains to Ember that the reason there is no water in the canals is that the door is broken and was supposed to catch spill from the main canals just before a ship passes through, spreading water on the canal. Noticing the water passing through, Ember hands Wade sandbags to stop the water from rushing to which after working together, Wade plans to hire a city crew to fix the leak before Friday.

During the "Steal the Show" sequence, Ember arrives at the Alkali Theater where Wade is waiting for her where they watch a movie titled "*Tide & Prejudice*" where the two start a relationship with each other. After the montage, Wade shows Ember his unique ability in running and rushing through the water after Ember showed her the ability to change colors by stepping on the minerals (crystals). Back at the Fireplace, Wade arrives via one of the vases "delivered" by an Earth delivery person where he engages in a private conversation with Ember, recapping 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.

Bernie approaches Wade and then accuses him for starting the leak at the store while Ember thinks he is a food inspector. As Wade tries the food given by Bernie, Ember thinks he likes the food, which Bernie tells him to taste the other food that came straight from his hometown, Fire Land. Bernie asks him if he passed the taste test, which Wade claims that he passed the test. However, Wade then extinguished the super hot food with water, which only made Bernie furious about water extinguishing fire as he bans him from the shop. Ember talks to Wade outside the store, telling him to meet her at the beach to make more sandbags. After Bernie took a picture of Wade, he places his photo on a bulletin board of customers who are banned from his store.

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 touches an orb made of glass, where a Vivisteria flower forms inside the glass, giving Ember an idea to use her fiery ability to seal the door by making a glass wall, which successfully prevents the water from flowing through the door, just before Wade decides to talk to Gale after work. Just before leaving, Wade hands Ember a Vivisteria flower while Ember returns to her father's shop. As Ember arrives at Wade's apartment, she tells Wade to tell her about the good news from Gale, just as Wade tells her that his family stopped by for dinner. Wade then introduces Ember to the rest of his family members - Brook, Alan, Eddy, Marco, Polo, Lake, Ghibli, and Harold who happily greet her inside the apartment. When Alan asks Ember if Wade is afraid of sponges, Ember denies, saying that she doesn't know about it. In a flashback when he was a child, Wade became attracted to a sponge and as he touched it, the sponge absorbed him, making him stuck in the sponge for hours. After dinner, Wade suggests to his family to participate in the Crying Game where a participant tries not to cry. During the Crying Game, Wade tells Ember that the light inside her made him feel like that he wants her to be near him. Suddenly, Wade receives a call from Gale who notices the tempered glass preventing the water from flowing through the canal, cancelling the tickets sent to her, which Ember happily reacts.

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, telling her that 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, just as Ember tells Wade to leave to avoid getting noticed by her father who engages in a private conversation with his wife and Ember.

The next day, Ember approaches Wade who warns her of a flooded tunnel leading to the main terminal located at the closed Garden Central Station area where they meet Gale inside. When Ember became desperate of 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, which Wade guides Ember across the flooded Garden Central Station. Upon swimming through the flooded area, 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, thinking that 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 what who she is and what her family is, refusing to sacrifice all of that for Wade just before she furiously leaves to return to Firetown. Wade later interrupts the grand reopening ceremony of the Fireplace, and after he reveals that he touched Ember, changing each other's chemistry, much to Bernie who is very furious, accusing him for causing a leak onto the pipes at the store, Ember reveals that she was the one who caused the incident. Just as Wade tells her that he loves her, Ember refuses to accept, much to Cinder's disappointment just as Ember tells Wade to leave.

The next day, Wade emotionally approaches his family members who feel sad that he is leaving as Wade and his relatives all cry together. However, seen a flood from the distance, Wade notices that Ember could be in danger, just as Wade comes to the rescue to save her from the flood. Upon arriving at the Fireplace, the flood pushes Wade and Ember into the matchmaking room as the two of them attempt to find a way to escape the flood. Seeing that there is no other way to escape the flooded room due to debris blocking the exit for Wade to escape, he suddenly evaporates from the heat while Ember continues to save her shop from the flood.

After the flood, Ember mourns Wade's sacrifice, claiming that it was all her fault. However, water begins dripping from the ceiling and falling onto a pot when Ember began to remember the Crying Game that Wade taught her. As Cinder finds out that Wade is the perfect match for Ember, Bernie lifts his ban from the store, telling Wade that he is no longer banned, resulting his bad reputation being dealt with. All of a sudden, Wade suddenly emerges as he is shown to be alive, just as he reconciles with Ember fall in love with each other again.

Months later, Wade enters the newly-rebuilt Fireplace and approaches Ember, telling her that it is time to leave. Wade and Ember, now a couple, are seen preparing to leave Element City where Wade bids a farewell to his mother Brook just before Wade leaves with Ember as the two travel the world together.

## Trivia

* A drink labeled "Wade Water", showing Wade as its mascot, was seen in the previous Pixar film *Lightyear* as a cameo appearance.
* He is the first character of an original film from Pixar to be the love interest of a female protagonist.
* Whenever Wade is nervous, he tends to "sweat". In this case, the water on his body move around more vigorously.
* As shown in the first official trailer, he got stuck in a sponge he touched when he was little. It is currently unknown how he got out. Since sponges need to be squeeze to release the water in them, there is a possibility that someone freed him.
* His family name "Ripple" means "moving disturbance, or undulation, in the surface of a fluid".
* Wade's design and figure bears a resemblance to *Osmosis Jones* from the 2001 animated/live-action film of the same name.
	+ Coincidentally, *Elemental* director Peter Sohn worked on *Osmosis Jones* as an animator prior to joining Pixar.
* His name, Wade Ripple, sounds eerily similar to that of Wade Whipple, a character from Paramount's *Sonic the Hedgehog* film series.