SOUL

Soul

Initial release date: December 25, 2020 (Disney Plus)

Studios: Walt Disney Pictures Pixar Animation

Tagline: Everybody has a soul. Joe Gardner is about to find his.

Plot: Joe is a middle school band teacher whose life hasn’t quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz - and he’s good. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have a soul.

Cast

Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy; Netflix’s Project Power) - Joe

Tina Fey (Netflix’s Wine Country) - 22

Graham Norton (Netflix’s Eurovision Song Contest) - Moonwind

Rachel House (Thor: Ragnarok) - Terry

Alice Braga (The New Mutants) - Counselor Jerry

Richard Ayoade (Lego Movie 2) - Counselor Jerry

Phylicia Rashad (Creed; Creed 2) - Libba

Donnell Rawlings - Dez

Angela Bassett (Avengers: Endgame) - TVs 9-1-1) - Dorothea

Daveed Diggs (Disney Plus’ Hamilton) - Paul

Questlove - Curley

Writer(s): Pete Docter (Inside Out; Up)

Mike Jones

Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami)

Director(s): Pete Docter (Inside Out; Up)

Kemp Powers (co-director)

Rated PG for thematic elements and some language (100 minutes)

The Disney Plus Original release of Pixar’s “Soul” is a delightful and entertaining flick that the entire family is sure to enjoy. The latest Pixar release delivers a lot of heart-warming moments and can also do a good job with making you laugh at certain moments throughout the feature.

“Soul” is a magical good time and the music that is featured in the animated movie is really outstanding. Just like most of Pixar’s movies, “Soul” does an amazing job keeping you entertained and the entire story is very, very touching.

The movie also features a nice message about life and makes you think “What is the meaning of life?” It also has the message of it’s never too late to start life or it’s never too late to give life a second chance. So, if you haven’t had the chance to check out the Disney/Pixar release of “Soul,” I highly suggest that you do!!

Here are some interesting tidbits about Disney/Pixar’s “Soul”:

• A Dorothea Williams record previously appeared in “Onward” during the scene where Colt Bronco visits the Lightfoot House at the beginning of the film.

• Animators used footage of several music performers, including jazz composer Jon Batiste, performing as a reference for the film’s musical sequences. By capturing MIDI data from the sessions, animators were able to retrace the exact key being played on the piano with each note and create the performances authentically.

• In an initial draft of the story, 22 was the main character rather than Joe. 22 had a strong dislike for Earth, and the film took place in the soul world. Joe was created to help show her why Earth is worth living in.

• According to Pete Docter, the animators assigned to specific musical instruments often either had experience playing them or a great appreciation for them.

• The first full-length Pixar film to not be released in movie theaters, but instead be released exclusively on Disney Plus. Unlike 2020s “Mulan,” the film didn’t require “Premiere Access” for an additional price, but was free for all subscribers.

• Kemp Powers originally joined as co-writer early in development to help write the Joe character, and was initially given a 12 week contract, which was then extended. He was subsequently promoted to co-director after his extensive contributions to the film, making him Pixar’s first African-American co-director.

• The film had a traditional theatrical release in countries without Disney Plus, where theaters have re-opened.

• During the approximately five years of development, the story team delivered 73,811 storyboards.

• Along with “Hamilton” and “Wonder Woman 1984,” this is one of the most watched straight to home viewing films released on a streaming service in 2020.

• The character’s name “22” is a reference to the paradox Catch-22. In this case, the only way to find out that life is worth living, is by living life.