The Flames of Love and War

FireWater would be a 2024 American computer-animated romantic drama film written and directed by Byron Howard, and produced by Clark Specer and Roy Conli. The film would star the voices of Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Gerald Butler, and Clancy Brown, while Christophe Beck would compose the score for the film. In the film, the princesses of two kingdoms in war with each other must work together after getting lost during a battle.

Disney would announce the film during the D23 2021, with Howard being set to write and direct the project. The film would use the use the animation used in Moana (2016) and the Frozen franchise as animation models for the film's characters, with the animation technology being altered and updated in order to work for the film's story. The filmmakers would also consult with several former soldiers in order to show a realistic depiction of war in the film, as well as with the GLAAD in order to feature an adequate representation of lesbian characters in the film.

The film would be released on November 22, 2024, and would became a critical and commercial success, grossing 1.2 billion dollars over a budget of 150 millions, and being praised for its direction, screenplay, themes, vocal performances (particularly Paquin and Page's), animation, visuals, depicition of LGBTQ+ characters, and musical score. The film would also have an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Picture and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Film, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Original Score.

Synopsis
In a far-away world, two opposite species are at war with each other: One made of fire, and one made of water, with each other seeing the other as a threat to their existence. However, the curious princess of the water realm, Aqua, soon gets herself in the middle of a battle, causing her to get lost in their world alongside the cold and hardened princess of the fire realm, Phoenix. Now, the two must work together in order to survive until they find a send that shall sent them to their homes. As the relationship between these princesses blossoms into love, the two realize how to finally end their kingdoms' war. The two must find a way to get home in time to stop a battle that will bring pain and horror.

Voice cast

 * Ellen Page as Aqua, the princess of the water realm, who holds a lot of curiosity and excitment for anything new and different to her. Page would say that "Aqua holds an obsession with everything new that she has been told to supress, but she just can't help it, and really hates herself for that cause her dad always told her 'new is bad', but her travel and her love for Phoenix bring her some questions".
 * Anna Paquin as Phoenix, the princess of the fire realm, who developed a distant and hardened personality due to the war and developed a hate against the water creatures because of it.
 * Gerald Butler as Basileus, Aqua's father and the king of the water kingdom, who fears for his daughter's safety and fears that the fire people may one day destroy their kingdom, as he believes them to be demons.
 * Clancy Brown as Calidi, Phoenix's father and the king of the fire realm, who has grudge against the water creatures after a battle nearly destroys his kingdom.
 * Alan Tudyk as Praelia, Basileus' general, servant, and personal bodyguard.

Music
Christophe Beck, who previously compsed the score for Disney's Frozen franchise, would compose the film's music. Beck would say that the film's plot would require for "a totally different work" to his compositions for the Frozen franchise, stating that he would have to create a score that could "combine war, romance, and wonder, perfectly as one". Beck would call the Phoenix's theme as "a hard nut to crack", as the character would require a "hardened, warrior theme that could be used in a romantic light", througth he would escribe Aqua's theme "easier to do" than Phoenix, as the character's theme would requiere a "sense of curiosity that also work as a romantic theme".

Melissa Etheridge and Matthew Gerrard, who previously worked on songs for Disneytoon Studios' Brother Bear 2 (2006), would write songs for the film. Director Byron Howard would hire them because he would feel that their songs for Brother Bear 2 were "incredible", and that those songs' style would "work pretty well in FireWater". Etheridge and Gerrard would be hired for the project during early development in order to give them "plenty of time" to work on the songs for the film.

Critical reception
The film would have an aproval rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 9.5/10. The critical consensus would read, "With timely message and a modern spin on Disney's romance formula, FireWater takes Disney to a more adult territory, while telling a charming romantic tale that undoubtly will drag-in the small ones." On Metacritc, the film would have an weighted average score of 91 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Trivia

 * The film would be Byron Howard's first time directing a film without a co-director.
 * FireWater would be Disney's first animated film to star homosexual characters.
 * According to Howard, the reason there would be a third-year-gap between the climax and the film's ending was because he wanted a "realistic" time for Aqua and Phoenix to marry each other, as he didn't wanted to continue Disney's "married after meeting trope".
 * The film would mark the first time Christophe Beck composes an animated Disney unrelated to the Frozen franchise.