Time for a little bit o’Soul. On Jun 19, 2019, Disney/Pixar announced the name and release date for their next animated feature, Soul. At the time, they released just one line of description for the movie: ‘It 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.’ Deep — but entirely unhelpful. However, at the D23: Expo 2019 presentation for Disney Studios, Pixar revealed all the details about the new movie, including the star-studded cast.
Jamie Foxx will voice an Earthbound middle school music teacher “who dreams of playing at legendary New York jazz club The Blue Note. After the wrong step into an open sewer grate, Joe slips back into his soul form back in the other realm — with some existential work to do before he might land his big gig,” reports our sister site Variety. Tina Fey, Questlove, Daveed Diggs and Felicia Rashad will also lend their vocal talents. Pixar Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter (Up, Inside Out) is directing the film and will serve as co-produce alongside Dana Murray. And the icing on the cake? Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross will be composing the score.
“Soul is a story of expectations and living your best life and fulfillment. For me it’s also education and music so it’s a combination of a lot of things that are right up the alley of the classics that were in Up and Inside Out and all the other Pete Docter magical films,” Questlove told Variety in a cast interview. Tina added that, “I like that Pixar isn’t afraid to talk about big, heavy topics with a young audience because they get it. They’re open to thinking about big things about life and death and what happens to us before and what happens to us after.”
Just Announced: @iamjamiefoxx and Tina Fey will lead the cast of #PixarSoul, coming to theaters June 19, 2020. Here’s a first look at their characters, Joe Gardner and 22, and a new piece of concept art. #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/4LTHAzalmE
— Disney (@Disney) August 24, 2019
“I think it also gives adults like us an opportunity to think about things we glaze over a lot of the time because we’re grown and don’t have to think about that stuff anymore. You can go see a film like this with a kid and then confront a whole bunch of yourself at the same time and have a ‘I’m not crying, you’re crying’ moment,'” Daveed added.