Ever wondered what it would be like to get the thing you’ve been dreaming for, only to then have it ripped away from you shortly after reaching the mountain top. Well, “Soul” shows us how quickly things can change.
The film comes from Disney’s beloved animation studio Pixar, who will showcase how Joe Gardner (played by Jamie Foxx from “Rio”) finally realizes his dream of being able to play jazz music on stage. However, after an accident, his soul is transported elsewhere, and he must find a way to make it back to Earth.
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Directed by the COO of Pixar, Pete Docter (“Monsters Inc.” and “Inside Out”), he described to Entertainment Weekly about the idea of a soul. He said, “We talked to a lot of folks that represented religious traditions and cultural traditions and [asked], ‘What do you think a soul is?’” Docter continued, “All of them said ‘vaporous’ and ‘ethereal’ and ‘non-physical.’ We were like, ‘Great! How do we do this?’ We’re used to toys, cars, things that are much more substantial and easily referenced. This was a huge challenge, but I gotta say, I think the team really put some cool stuff together that’s really indicative of those words but also relatable.”
They wanted the main character to be somewhat relatable, with Pixar, it’s about grabbing the audience by the heart. So they settled on a musician who strives for perfection. Docter said, “It’s a little bit of a selfish endeavor. Once we landed on music, it really set the trajectory for the rest of the film.”
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Not only is Pixar great at pulling at the heartstrings, but they also like to raise questions. One that Docter has in mind is, “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’?”
Along with Foxx, the film will also feature a soul training, 22, played by Tina Fey (“Megamind”) as well as veteran Pixar voice actor John Ratzenberger (“Toy Story”). Questlove, Daveed Diggs, and Phylicia Rashad are also a part of the cast.
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Here is the synopsis:
Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher, has long dreamed of performing jazz music on stage, and finally gets a chance after impressing other jazz musicians during an opening act at the Half Note Club. However, an accident causes Gardner’s soul to be separated from his body and transported to the “You Seminar”, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child, and Gardner must work with souls in training, such as 22, a soul with a dim view on life after being trapped for years at the You Seminar, in order to return to Earth before it’s too late.
“Soul” will be released in cinemas on June 19th, 2020, get ready for another emotional rollercoaster from the House-of-Mouse. Watch the new trailer below.