Soul Short Film
Gaynelle Beltramo
Soul is a 2020 American animated fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers, both of whom co-wrote it with Mike Jones,[c] and produced by Dana Murray. The film stars the voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, and Angela Bassett. It follows Joe Gardner (Foxx), a middle school teacher and aspiring pianist who falls into a coma following an accident and seeks to reunite his separated soul and body in time for his big break as a jazz musician.
Docter conceived Soul in January 2016, examining the origins of human personalities and the concept of determinism. During his first meeting with Jones, he pitched the idea about spacetime involving souls with personalities. The film's producers consulted various jazz musicians, including Herbie Hancock and Terri Lyne Carrington, and animated its musical sequences using the sessions of musician Jon Batiste as a reference. Apart from Batiste's original jazz compositions, musicians Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the film's score. Production on Soul lasted for four years on an approximate $150 million budget. It was the first Pixar film to feature a black lead.
The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named Soul one of the top ten films of 2020. It was nominated for three Academy Awards at the 93rd Academy Awards, winning two, and received numerous other accolades.
In New York City, pianist Joe Gardner teaches music part-time at a middle school while dreaming of playing jazz professionally. When he receives an offer to teach full-time, his mother Libba urges him to accept, although Joe is resistant. Joe learns famous jazz musician Dorothea Williams has an opening in her quartet and auditions at a jazz club. Impressed with his piano playing, Dorothea hires him for that night's show. As Joe heads off, his excitement distracts him, and he falls down an open manhole.
Joe returns to Earth but accidentally brings 22 with him, and they awaken in Joe's hospital room in the wrong bodies, with 22 inhabiting Joe's body and Joe inhabiting the body of a therapy cat. They locate Moonwind, who agrees to meet at the jazz club that night to restore Joe to his body. In the meantime, 22 settles into Joe's body and starts to find enjoyment in trivial things like food, wind, and music. She holds poignant conversations with Libba, Joe's student Connie, and Joe's barber Dez, deepening her understanding of life. Meanwhile, Terry, the being in charge of counting souls, discovers the count is off and arrives on Earth to find Joe.
As the day ends, Joe and 22 visit Moonwind to return Joe to his body, but 22, having finally discovered the joy of living, refuses to leave Joe's body and flees. As Joe chases her through a subway station, Terry disconnects them from life and returns them to the Great Before. 22 discovers her badge is complete, but Joe bitterly insists it was the result of experiencing life in his body with his preferences and that she has no purpose of her own. Distraught, 22 throws the badge at him and retreats into the Zone. A Jerry informs Joe that a spark is not a soul's purpose in life, but Joe refuses to believe this and discreetly uses 22's badge to return to Earth.
The show at the jazz club is successful, but Joe is confused when it does not bring the fulfillment he was expecting. Looking at small objects that 22 collected while occupying his body, he recalls the moments they had enjoyed together and realizes these experiences gave 22 her spark. Joe plays piano and enters the Zone to return 22's badge but discovers she has become a lost soul, obsessed with the idea that she has no purpose. Joe chases her down and shows her a sycamore seed she collected to remind her of her time on Earth. They realize that a spark is not a soul's purpose, but simply a desire to live. Joe's actions restore 22 to normal; he returns her badge and accompanies her for as long as he can on her journey down to Earth.
As Joe prepares to enter the Great Beyond, a Jerry stops him and offers him another chance at life in thanks for finally inspiring 22 to live (while another Jerry distracts Terry to manipulate the count). The next morning, Joe returns to his body on Earth, committed to fully living life.
Additionally, Daveed Diggs plays Paul, Joe's neighborhood frenemy;[2][7] Cora Champommier plays Connie, one of Joe's middle school band students; Margo Hall and Rhodessa Jones play Melba and Lulu, Libba's co-workers;[10] June Squibb plays Gerel, a soul who meets Joe before going to the Great Beyond;[4] and Esther Chae is credited with playing Miho, a bassist in Williams' band, but Miho has no lines in the final film.[11][12] Cody Chesnutt provides his vocals, from his song "Parting Ways", as a street singer with a guitar.[13]
Sakina Jaffrey, Calum Grant, Laura Mooney, Peggy Flood, Ochuwa Oghie, Jeannie Tirado, and Cathy Cavadini provide the voices of Doctor, Hedge Fund Manager, Therapy Cat Lady, Marge, Dancerstar, Principal Arroyo, and Dreamerwind.[10]
Soul began development in January 2016 following the announcement of the 88th Academy Awards when director Pete Docter pitched an idea for a new film to then-studio head of Pixar John Lasseter.[14][15] Docter pondered the origins of human personalities with the concept of determinism. In his first meeting with co-writer Mike Jones, Docter pitched an idea set in the astral plane involving souls with personalities.[16] The film spent four years in production,[17] with an approximate $150 million budget.[18]
Docter and Jones worked on the development of the main character for about two years.[16] Initial ideas included portraying Joe as a scientist, which did not feel "so naturally pure". Pixar eventually settled on portraying the film's main character as a musician because they wanted an appealing profession for the audience. According to Docter, once the creative team decided the main character played jazz music, the filmmakers chose to make him African-American due to the race being tied to jazz history.[19][20]
With co-writer Kemp Powers's help, Docter wrote Joe during the film's early development. Powers's initial contract was 12-weeks long, but was later extended.[16] After making extensive contributions to the film, Powers became a co-director, making him Pixar's first African-American co-director.[20] Powers based several elements of Joe on his personal life, but wanted the character to "transcend [his] own experience" in order to make him more accessible.[19] Powers also placed additional emphasis on authentically depicting Joe's relationships within the black community.[21] In order to portray accurately African-American culture within the film, Pixar worked closely with an internal "Cultural Trust" composed of black Pixar employees, and hired several consultants. These consultants included musicians Herbie Hancock, Terri Lyne Carrington, Quincy Jones, and Jon Batiste; educator Johnnetta Cole; and stars Questlove and Diggs.
The idea of Joe's soul entering the body of a therapy cat came from Mike Jones. Docter and Powers appreciated the idea, as it allowed Joe to "be able to look at his own life from a different perspective" and appreciate it. According to Murray, the filmmakers were undecided on Soul's ending before the last screening. Some test versions of the film ended featuring Joe pondering whether to pass on to the Great Beyond; returning to Earth a year later; or staying in the Great Before as a mentor. Initial storyboards featured several brief scenes showing 22's life on Earth after her new birth, including one of her reuniting with Joe in New York. These scenes were ultimately discarded.[22]
In August 2019, it was announced that Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad and Daveed Diggs had joined the cast.[2][7] In March 2020, Angela Bassett announced she was cast in the film. During the release of the film's trailer in October 2020, Richard Ayoade, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Wes Studi, Fortune Feimster, Zenobia Shroff, Donnell Rawlings and June Squibb were also announced to be in the cast.[4]
Docter said Jamie Foxx (himself a classically trained pianist) was perfect for Joe, citing his comedic skills and musical background.[18] Foxx related the film's "bittersweet [feeling] of losing someone but gaining a vision of joy".[23][24]
Tina Fey, in addition to voicing 22, also contributed to the screenplay, helping to write her character's lines.[25] She considered the film, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a "helpful reminder that [life] isn't defined by achievement or attainment".[23]
Soul is Pixar's first film to feature an African-American lead.[26] Pixar and Docter were mindful of the history of racist imagery (particularly caricatured depictions of African-Americans) in animation and wanted to create black characters[16] as well as integrate authentic African-American culture into the film's "DNA" to prevent caricatures, stereotypes, and tropes.[27] Pixar sought to capture the fine details of the characters, including the textures of black hair and the way light plays on various tones of black skin.[16] According to Powers, the animators used lighting in emphasizing the character's ethnic features.[28] Cinematographer Bradford Young worked as a lighting consultant on the film.[28]
Animators used footage of several music performers, including Batiste, as reference for the film's musical sequences. By capturing MIDI data from the sessions, animators retraced the exact key being played on the piano with each note and animated the performances authentically. According to Docter, the animators assigned to specific musical instruments often either had experience playing them or a great appreciation for them.[28][29]
The souls were animated by the filmmakers in a "vaporous", "ethereal", and "non-physical" way. Souls were designed to depict various religious and cultural outlooks.[25] The designs were also inspired by early drawings made by Docter. Animators created two designs for the souls in the film: one for the new souls in "The Great Before" (described as "very cute, very appealing, with simple, rounded shapes" by supervising animator Jude Brownbill) and one for mentor souls (feature distinctive characteristics since they have been on Earth).[30] They differentiated souls from ghosts by adjusting their color palette accordingly.[31] Animating the souls' designs was challenging and substantial. According to Murray, several artists helped create the souls' designs by giving their suggestions and opinions on how they should look.[32]
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