Disney had announced earlier in the Spring that Pixar’s “Soul,” which was originally intended to hit theaters on June 19th, would be moving its June release date to November 20th. There were rumors that it could be getting an early-VOD/Disney+ release like Pixar’s previous film, “Onward, and also Disney’s own “Artemis Fowl,” alas the mouse house has decided to go the theatrical route with “Soul” because, I’m guessing here, a) it could spell bigger money and b) it has a legitimate shot at Oscar nominations.
Pixar has promised to rely less on sequels in the foreseeable future, “Soul” director Pete Docter, the filmmaker behind “Inside Out,” has given us yet another highly original premise with “Soul” which follows an aspiring Jazz Pianist, (voiced by Jamie Foxx), who’s lost his passion for music, but gets transported to the afterlife and tries to find his way back with the help of an infant soul (Tina Fey).
I bet this gets great reviews.
At some point in time, specifically from 1995 to 2010, Pixar could do absolutely no wrong, it seemed like they were releasing classic after classic, and were going to be unbeatable in the animation game. What else would you call a stretch that included "Finding Nemo,” “WALL-E,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “Up!” “Monsters Inc,” and the first three “Toy Story” movies? I say, perfection.
However, something happened post-2010, a much more lenient approach to sequel-making entered the fray; “Cars 2” became a juggernaut for toy and clothing merchandising which brought greed into the equation. Then it didn’t stop, “Monsters University,” “Finding Dory,” “Cars 3,” “The Incredibles 2,” and “Toy Story 4,” all came to the fray and dampened the Pixar reputation. The risk-taking factor also came in with safer fare such as “Brave,” “The Good Dinosaur,” and this year’s “Onward.” Of course, this post-2010 phase also brought forth two notable gems, “Inside Out” and “Coco.” Will “Soul” be part of the latter group? All signs point to the positive.