- “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 the 2023 Disney/Pixar 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 closure. 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.”
- ―Elemental Press Kit
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 does. He has a close relationship with his family but had a hard relationship with Dewey (his father), who passed away 10 years ago (when Wade was 16 years old). According to Wade, he and his father couldn't agree on anything, and now he regrets not having enjoyed his time with his father while he was alive. Wade is also such a gentleman, as seen during his first date with Ember, he lets her go first to the theater and the elevator.
As for 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 pursuit 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 to fix a damaged dam that could put the inhabitants of Firetown in danger, including her parents.
After they made a temporary fix on the dam using sandbags, giving time for it to be fixed by a work crew, 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 falls 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 learns Ember doesn't actually want to run the Fireplace, he supports her, incentivizing her to follow her own dreams. Wade has shown to love Ember with all his heart and is 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 had always wanted to see since she was a kid. He decided to take the risk and try to hold Ember's hand, despite the danger of being evaporated by her. Although Ember is skeptical about trying to hold hands with Wade as well, she gives in, and the two are so happy to see they can touch after all and dance together.
But Wade becomes disappointed in Ember when she still decides to run her father's shop even when they both know she doesn't want to do it. She breaks up with him for not understanding the differences they possess as she points out that her parents had gave up everything for her. 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 comes to the ceremony for Bernie's retirement and Ember's inheritance of the store and confesses to Ember his love for her. She was so scared to let her family down that she rejected him and became angry towards him after he accidentally revealed that she was the one who damaged the pipes in the basement. That moment shattered Wade's heart in such a manner that he gave the glass flower back to her and left, 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 to 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 that Wade was willing to sacrifice himself for Ember. Wade also claimed to Ember that he doesn't regret any of his actions because she gave him something most people search for their whole lives. Ember finally confesses her love for Wade and apologizes for not saying it earlier. He forgives her and the two hug as Wade evaporates. Ember realizes Wade's moisture is on the stone ceiling of the alcove, so she plays the crying game, making him drip out of the ceiling and reform back to his physical form. 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.
When he was a child, he got stuck in a sponge after touching it. He has had a fear of sponges since then in such a way that his mother can't even use one around him in the house anymore.
Physical appearance[]
Wade is a young man with a noticeably attractive but friendly appearance. Being a water element, his entire body is made out of translucent blue water, forming a rather pudgy yet well-built body that is much taller than Ember's body, complete with dark blue eyebrows, waves that resemble hair on top of his head, a small nose, and eyes colored in two shades of blue.
As an inspector, Wade wears casual business attire; consisting of a pale yellow polo shirt with thin, wavy white stripes, a light purple and blue ombre necktie, and a tag on the left side. His casual attire consists of a purple T-shirt with darker sleeves, with white trim around the collar and bottom, as well as two white stripes on the sleeves, and tiny water droplets forming a pattern.
Near the end of the film, Wade wore a green and yellow high-collared jacket with a wavy pink stripe on the front, as well as a small "Sea breaker" sentence located on the upper right.
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 in 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 moves around more vigorously.
- Wade has had some previous jobs before his as a city inspector, with him being fired from each one of them for unknown reasons.
- 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 squeezed to release the water in them, there is a possibility that someone freed him.
- Before being evaporated by the heat generated by Ember and the blue flame, Wade's last words before being believed to have died was that he loved the way Ember's light "does that", referring to the way the light emanated by Ember's flame is reflected. Interestingly, that's what initially sparked Wade's interest in Ember, when her light caught Wade's attention after it was refracted through the glass windows of the entrance doors and reflected on the pneumatic tubes.
- His family name "Ripple" means "moving disturbance, or undulation, in the surface of a fluid".
- Wade's design and figure bear 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 before joining Pixar.
- His name, Wade Ripple, sounds eerily similar to that of Wade Whipple, a human police officer character from Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog film series.
- For unknown reasons, the sponge Wade touched when he was young was meant to turn into darker colors, but it turned blue like him.
