Disney & Pixar have released the trailer for their newest animated feature titled SOUL. It opens in theaters on June 19, 2020 and includes the voices of comedic actors Jamie Fox and Tina Fey.
SOUL introduces Joe Gardner (Fox), a middle-school band teacher whose true passion is playing jazz. But just when Joe thinks his dream might be in reach, a single unexpected step sends him to a fantastical place where he’s is forced to think again about what it truly means to have soul. That’s where he meets and ultimately teams up with 22 (Fey), a soul who doesn’t think life on Earth is all it’s cracked up to be.
“I think Joe is having that crisis that all artists have,” says co-director Kemp Powers. “He’s increasingly feeling like his lifelong dream of being a jazz musician is not going to pan out and he’s asking himself ‘Why am I here? What am I meant to be doing?’ Joe personifies those questions.”
SOUL is directed by two-time Academy Award®-winner Pete Docter and says that the idea for the story is 23 years in the making.
“It started with my son—he’s 23 now—but the instant he was born, he already had a personality,” says Docter. “Where did that come from? I thought your personality developed through your interaction with the world. And yet, it was pretty clear that we’re all born with a very unique, specific sense of who we are.”
The film is set in New York City and features original jazz music written by Jon Batiste and an original score written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
“I grew up with Peanuts cartoons and the Vince Guaraldi music,” says Docter. “I feel like it’s coursing through my veins and this is our version of that. Jon Batiste is a fantastic musician—he’s a historian yet is able to push the music forward, bringing all these different influences to the work. I sincerely hope that the jazz music in ‘Soul’ will inspire a whole new generation.”
SOUL also features the voices of Phylicia Rashad, Ahmir Questlove Thompson and Daveed Diggs.
Take a look below: