Soul (2020 film)

Soul is an upcoming 2020 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers, from a screenplay by Docter, Powers, Mike Jones and Tina Fey. The film stars the voices of Jamie Foxx, Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs, and Angela Bassett.

Soul
Teaser poster
Directed byPete Docter
Produced byDana Murray
Screenplay by
Story byPete Docter
Starring
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release date
  • November 20, 2020 (2020-11-20) (United States)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Soul is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on November 20, 2020.

Premise

Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher, has long dreamed of performing jazz music onstage, and finally gets a chance after impressing other jazz musicians during an opening act at the Half Note Club. However, an untimely accident causes Gardner’s soul to be separated from his body and begin to proceed to The Great Beyond, and Gardner escapes to The Great Before, a world where souls develop personalities, quirks, and traits before being sent off to Earth. There, Gardner must work with souls in training at The Great Before, such as 22, a soul with a dim view on the concept of life, in order to return to Earth before his body dies.[3]

Cast

Production

Development

In January 2016, it was announced that Pete Docter, head of Pixar, was working on a new film.[10][11]

In June 2018, it was announced that Docter was planning to complete his film despite being appointed Chief Creative Officer at Pixar after John Lasseter's departure.[12] In June 2019, Pixar announced a new film titled Soul with Docter directing and Dana Murray producing,[13] with a synopsis released on Twitter about a cosmic journey through New York City.[14]

Murray said that the film will "(take audiences) to a world where no one’s ever been, well, for a long time", while co-writer/co-director Kemp Powers said that it is "completely different" to Docter's previous films. Powers also said that the film will answer important questions in "a really fun way".[2] Tina Fey also contributed to the screenplay, having helped to write her character's lines.[2]

Pixar chose to portray the film's main character as a musician, because they wanted a "profession the audience could root for", and settled for a musician after trying for a scientist, which "[didn't feel] so naturally pure as a musician's life".[2] Docter described Soul as "an exploration of, where should your focus be? What are the things that, at the end of the day, are really going to be the important things that you look back on and go, 'I spent a worthy amount of my limited time on Earth worrying or focused on that'?".[2]

Casting

On August 24, 2019, Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad and Daveed Diggs were announced as starring in the film.[3][4] Soul is Pixar's first film to feature an African-American protagonist.[15] On March 17, 2020, Angela Bassett announced she was in the cast.[6] On April 13, 2020, John Ratzenberger joined the voice cast.[7] On May 4, 2020, Powers announced that Richard Ayoade joined the film's voice cast.[8]

Animation

The filmmakers animated the souls featured in the film in a "vaporous", "ethereal", and "non physical" way, having based their designs on definitions about souls given to them by various religious and cultural representatives. Docter described it as "a huge challenge", as the animators are "used to toys, cars, things that are much more substantial and easily referenced", though he felt the animation team "really put some cool stuff together that's really indicative of those words but also relatable".[2]

Music

During the 2019 D23 Expo, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were revealed to be composing the film's score, while Jon Batiste will be writing jazz songs for the film.[3]

Release

Soul was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on June 19, 2020,[16] but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed to November 20, 2020.[17] On June 3, 2020, it was selected as part of the line-up for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.[18] On June 26, 2020, it was also selected as the part of ESSENCE Festival, called “Finding Soul” a conversation with the team behind Soul.

Marketing

The film's teaser trailer was released on November 7, 2019.[19] The first full trailer was released on March 12, 2020.

References
  1. Glardyna, Carolin (August 24, 2019). "'Soul' Cast: Pixar Reveals Names At D23". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  2. Romano, Nick (November 6, 2019). "Pixar bares its Soul in first look at film with Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  3. Fuster, Jeremy (August 24, 2019). "'Soul': Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey Star in Pixar's Most Existential Adventure Yet". The Wrap. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  4. Radulovic, Petrana (August 24, 2019). "Pixar's latest film Soul is a metaphysical comedy with the studio's first black lead". Polygon.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  5. @TheDisInsider (August 24, 2019). "'Soul' will feature music from John Batiste and original score from Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross. Questlove from The Roots will be playing a Jazz Drummer, Phylicia Rashad plays Joe's mother, Daveed Diggs also starring, as well as Tina Fey and Jamie Foxx" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. Angela Bassett [@ImAngelaBassett] (February 22, 2020). "Hey Everybody you good? This summer, discover your brilliant, passionate self! So thrilled to finally let the world know that I am part of Disney and Pixar's new movie Soul! You'll be hearing a lot more from my character Dorothea Williams very soon. #PixarSoul" (Tweet). Retrieved March 17, 2020 – via Twitter.
  7. Sneider, Jeff (April 13, 2020). "Disney Moves Pixar's 'Soul' to Fall, 'Raya and the Last Dragon' to Next Year". Collider. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  8. Kemp Powers [@powerkeni] (March 13, 2020). "Richard Ayoade is also one of my favorites. In fact, it was my idea to ask him to be in the film! I still watch old installments of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace!" (Tweet). Retrieved May 4, 2020 – via Twitter.
  9. Pixar’s ‘Soul’ Releases New Teaser Trailer (Watch)
  10. "Pete Docter - Oscars: What the Nominees Are Saying". The Hollywood Reporter. January 14, 2016. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  11. "Film Reviews, Hong Kong Cinema Listings & Interviews – Time Out Hong Kong | Interview: Pixar president Jim Morris – 'The Good Dinosaur'". Time Out. June 2, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  12. Verlaque, Juliette (June 22, 2018). "End of an Era: Inside Pixar on the Eve of John Lasseter's Departure". TheWrap. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  13. D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 19, 2019). "'Soul' Will Be Pixar's Big Pic Next Summer". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  14. Soul [@PixarSoul] (June 19, 2019). "One year from today, Pixar Animation Studios will take you on a journey from the streets of New York City to the cosmic realms to discover the answers to life's most important questions. Disney & Pixar's "Soul" arrives in theaters on June 19, 2020" (Tweet). Retrieved June 19, 2019 – via Twitter.
  15. Sherlock, Ben (October 13, 2019). "Everything We Know (So Far) About Pixar's Soul". ScreenRant. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  16. "Disney release schedule" (PDF) (Press release). Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. May 7, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  17. Fuster, Jeremy (April 13, 2020). "Disney Moves 'Soul,' 'Raya and the Last Dragon' Release Dates". TheWrap. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  18. "The films of the Official Selection 2020". Festival de Cannes. June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  19. @TheDisInsider (November 6, 2019). "First trailer for Disney•Pixar's 'Soul' debuts tomorrow!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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