Last December 25, Santa Claus had scheduled his gift for Disney + subscribers with Soul’s release. Synopsis, release date, opinion, cast, anecdotes, and here’s everything you need to know about the new Pixar animated film.
En Avant, Coco, The Incredibles, Toy Story, Wall-E, and so on, from its beginnings in 1995, the Pixar studio has built a solid reputation in the animated film, managing to satisfy young and old original stories. And filled with good feelings.
Each new project is therefore followed with enthusiasm by fans of the genre. Soul, the latest, is no exception to the rule. Orchestrated by a major Pixar figure, it won over most critics and other viewers.
On the other hand, the film has already experienced several turmoils following the global Covid-19 epidemic, so much so that it will not ultimately be released in theaters. Disney has decided to reserve the feature film for its Disney + subscription streaming platform (SVoD). Let’s recap the information you need to know about the new animated film.
Soul, what is it about?
The official summary:
After the emotions of Inside Out, Disney / Pixar takes us into the world of souls to discover where our personality comes from. What we love, our passions, our character, in short, this great existential mystery of our deep being.
We follow Joe Gardner (Omar Sy), a gifted musician who has just been hired in one of the best jazz clubs in New York. Except that an accident transports him to the “Great Before,” a place where new souls are assigned their personalities before going to Earth.
Joe will then try to find his life with the help of 22 (Camille Cottin), a particularly precocious soul who does not really want human life. By trying to show him all the little pleasures of everyday life, Joe may end up finding the answers about his own existence.
- Here’s the official Soul trailer :
What we learned from the trailer:
The trailer hints at a world of souls full of charm. Pixar still seems to have shown a lot of imagination in designing The Grand Avant and its inhabitants. Technically, the film also promises to be very successful.
We can already see that 22 does not seem to lack humor and Joe of optimism regarding the story. Note also that the music will also play the leading roles, in the life of Joe, as in that of his sidekick.
Our quick review of the film:
The soul is a wonderful film, both visually and in the message it carries. As often with Pixar, the animation is flawless and takes us into a teeming and rich universe. In the real world or the afterlife, Joe Gardner’s adventures are a pleasure to see.
The animated feature film also emphasizes beautiful values. Friendship, resilience, passion, altruism, love of neighbor, and many others and his heroes are very endearing by giving pride to jazz and music, Soul surprises and manages to think outside the box.
It’s dynamic, funny, and witty. Perhaps the only downside is that the animated film does not seem very easy to understand for the youngest. The soul can be more complex than it appears at times, and kids may not understand all of its ins and outs. However, it is still excellent, and we recommend that you watch it.
The first extract was unveiled:
To give fans a taste of the film, Disney has already shared the first preview. The hero, Joe Gardner, enters one of the best jazz clubs in New York. The music of saxophonist Dorothy Williams seems to impress him, but the latter does not give him a warm welcome.
A real passion for music:
The master class line of iconic jazz musician Herbie Hancock gave Soul’s creators an idea: make the film’s main character a passion for music, especially jazz. For this reason, its intrigue takes place in New York, one of the capitals of this musical genre on the other side of the Atlantic.
In charge of the film’s soundtrack, Jon Batiste said: “The compositions are nourished in large part by what more than a century of jazz has generated, which gives the listener many points. It is a way of paying homage to music while introducing this musical genre to a new audience”.
When was the movie released?
Disney gives fans a nice Christmas present by featuring Soul online on December 25, 2020. Remember that it was planned earlier; since its initial release was to occur on June 24, after a stint at the Cannes Film Festival (the film received the Cannes 2020 label). It was then postponed to November 25, before being scheduled for December 25.
Also to see at the cinema?
As we specified above, only Disney + subscribers will be able to see the film in France. Disney has chosen to favor its streaming platform, to the detriment of cinemas. This is valid in all countries where the service is available.
A frustration for exhibitors when we know that Pixar films attract many viewers. The National Federation of French Cinemas expressed itself via a press release, deploring a decision “economically totally unjustified taking the risk of permanently weakening cinemas.”
This is the second Disney (after Mulan) to skip the cinema box to land directly on the SVoD service. The entertainment giant favors its platform in the current health context, where many cinemas are still closed.
It also highlights creating a more direct link with its audience via Disney + without going through intermediaries. Obviously, we still see Disney badly doing without cinemas, especially for big-budget works like Marvel. However, it will surely take some getting used to this new policy, and it seems doomed to become regular.
Who is in charge?
Behind the camera and the script, we find Peter Docter, propelled studio boss after John Lasseter. He is already a double Oscar winner for La-Haut and Vice-Versa. The idea of Soul crossed her mind 23 years ago when her son was born.
He felt that the baby already had his personality long before the world around him influenced him. He then asked himself the origin of this unique little something that we have from birth. Here, he is accompanied by Kemp Powers, screenwriter of several episodes of Star Trek: Discovery.
As the feature film gives pride of place to music, we had to surround ourselves with specialists. The jazz part was, let us remember, entrusted to Jon Batiste. As for the soundtrack, we owe it to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Oscar winners for The Social Network.
The film is carried in its original version by Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey on the vocal casting side. In France, we can count on the voices of Omar Sy, Camille Cottin, and Ramzy Bedia in Vendelune, a character not yet met in the trailer. Stay tuned for the next update.