‘Soul’ celebrates the ‘little things’
The new Pixar/Disney animated comedy “Soul” with Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey wears its heart on its sleeve, so much so that filmmakers wondered if it was too corny or too earnest in the way it discusses the importance of simply living life.
But at the end of a dreadful 2020 where all of our existences have been affected by a pandemic, “Soul” arrives on Christmas Day like a cathartic, afterlife-filled salve.
“Who knew that in our attempt to tell a story about how it’s the little things in life that are the most valuable ... the entire world would really be able to understand what that means because we’ve all been locked in our houses for the past year,” said co-writer and co-director Kemp Powers (who adapted his own play for the upcoming “One Night in Miami”).
“Soul,” which begins streaming Friday on Disney+, centers on middleschool band director Joe Gardner (voiced by Foxx), who would rather be playing jazz on his piano than teaching it.
After scoring a dream gig backing up a famous saxophonist (Angela Bassett), Joe falls down a manhole and winds up on an escalator to The Great Beyond. He freaks out, accidentally ends up in The Great Before — a place where new souls earn personalities before being born — and befriends sarcastic 22 (Tina Fey), who doesn’t see why anybody would want to go to Earth. Joe tries to convince her that living is actually rather great on a thoughtful adventure involving cool music, body swapping and a cat.
There are some definite “It’s a Wonderful Life” vibes, and the Frank Capra classic acted as inspiration for the “Soul” story. “While it’s seen as a family movie, it was kind of unafraid to go to some pretty dark places,” Powers said of the 1946 holiday favorite.
“Soul” had been planned as Disney’s big holiday movie in theaters, but because of the pandemic, the studio shifted it to its streaming service.
Fey hopes that “Soul” inspires audiences “to be present in the moment we’re in, even though it’s scary and sad (and) even though we want to wish ourselves into the future. Our lives are happening now and we can still appreciate every moment.”
Foxx echoes that and sees “Soul” as something that can bring us all together.
“Look, I don’t want you thinking deep,” he adds with a laugh. “Hopefully everybody will have a nice, safe Christmas. But when you get through eating, just turn that television or whatever device you have on and watch ‘Soul’ and just escape. No homework at the end of the night.”
Joe’s journey as an artist was initially spawned by director Pete Docter’s experience after releasing his 2015 Pixar hit “Inside Out.” The movie made a bunch of money and even won an Oscar, “but it didn’t make everything in my world suddenly make sense and at peace,” Docter says. “I still had issues and still do today, and so it really caused me to kind of question what it is we’re meant to be doing with our time.
“A lot of us grew up with this narrative, like you have to accomplish something, win awards, be rich, famous, whatever, in order to have worth. And I think (‘Soul’) really sets out to undo that.”