Pixar's SOUL and the Transformation of Black Animated Characters

In 2009 Disney released their animated movie The Princess and the Frog, featuring Tiana. Tiana was the first princess that looked like me and at 19 I was finally get the representation I deserved! And then 30 minutes into the movie, she turns into a frog. And then she hops around for a full hour before she turns into a human again. I STILL feel duped. And even today, Tiana doesn’t get the love she deserves. I mean people are STILL hating on her getting a little bit of love at Splash Mountain. So when I saw the first trailer for Pixar Soul late last year, my heart dropped. If you have no idea why you can take a look at it here.

Disney & Pixar’s Soul Official Teaser Trailer

Jamie Foxx is the first black actor to star as a lead in a Pixar movie. Halfway into the trailer his character Joe, falls into a man hole and turns into … well… whatever he is. WHY CAN’T WE HAVE A MOVIE FULL OF BLACK CHARACTERS THAT ACTUALLY STAY HUMAN? Tiana spent 85% of her movie as a frog. When 20th Century Studios released Spies in Disguise, Lance (played by Will Smith) spent the majority of his movie as pigeon. And now we have Soul. I sincerely hope that they do not give us another hour of movie where they could be telling an amazing story from a perspective we deserve and waste it with Joe the blue blob.

I will say, that seeing the official trailer and then the teaser trailer that was released a few days ago made me a little more optimistic. As usual with Pixar the visuals are stunning (check out Onward on Disney+ if you don’t believe me). Also, for a movie about music, I’m sure the soundtrack is going to be amazing. I just pray that with an all-star cast, it’s not wasted in “the great beyond”.

Check out the Teaser trailer Pixar released for Soul on Twitter.

Watch a sneak peek from #PixarSoul; a story about finding the real, the brilliant, the passionate you, featuring the song “Parting Ways” written, produced, & performed by Cody ChesnuTT. pic.twitter.com/wT2nkKDN19
— Soul (@PixarSoul) June 27, 2020

About Disney & Pixar’s Soul

Joe Gardner is a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe teams up with a precocious soul, 22, who has never understood the appeal of the human experience. As Joe desperately tries to show 22 what’s great about living, he may just discover the answers to some of life’s most important questions.

Featuring the voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Ahmir Questlove Thompson, Daveed Diggs, “Soul” is directed by Academy Award® winner Pete Docter (“Inside Out,” “Up”), co-directed by Kemp Powers (“One Night in Miami”) and produced by Academy Award nominee Dana Murray (Pixar short “Lou”). Globally renowned musician Jon Batiste will be writing original jazz music for the film, and Oscar®-winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (“The Social Network”), from Nine Inch Nails, will compose an original score that will drift between the real and soul worlds.