Soul (2020 film)

Soul is a 2020 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers, 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. The story follows a middle school music teacher named Joe Gardner (Foxx), who seeks to reunite his soul and his body after they are accidentally separated, just before his big break as a jazz musician.
Docter conceived Soul in January 2016, working from his contemplations on the origins of human personalities and the concept of determinism. He co-wrote the screenplay with Mike Jones and Powers. 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 reference. Apart from Batiste's original jazz compositions, musicians Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross also composed the film's score.
Soul premiered at the London Film Festival on October 11, 2020. It was set to be theatrically released on November 20 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Soul was instead then released direct-to-streaming on Disney+ on December 25, and in theaters in countries without the streaming service. It became the first feature-length film from Pixar not to be given a wide theatrical release and the first to be billed as a Disney+ Original. Soul was well-received by the media for its animation, story, voice acting, and musical score. Organizations like the National Board of Review and American Film Institute named the film as one of the top 10 films of 2020. Soul led the 93rd Academy Awards season with three nominations (winning two), and received numerous accolades.
Category:Films