Video Interviews

Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, and Soul Cast Talk Getting "In the Zone" and Making History

The first Pixar film to focus on Black characters and experiences presented unique opportunities for its star-studded roster of actors and animators.

by | December 14, 2020 | Comments

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Pixar’s newest critically acclaimed film, Soul, bears many of the studio’s hallmarks: it’s a high-concept metaphysical story about who we are as people with echoes of Inside Out… and, yes, it will make you bawl. But it might also be the animation giant’s most distinct and ambitious movie yet. From directors Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, Soul stars Jamie Foxx as jazz pianist Joe, who never quite broke out but hasn’t let go of his dreams, and who’s forced to take a look at his life when a near-death experience sends his soul into a different world – one full of other souls, many of them as lost as he is. It’s challenging stuff, but heartfelt and funny, with a killer soundtrack and a story that, for the first time in Pixar’s history, centers on Black characters and experiences. Ahead of the movie’s premiere on Disney+, Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Coley sat down with Foxx, co-stars Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, and Questlove, plus Docter, Powers, and producer Dana Murray, to talk about crafting a unique entry into the Pixar canon, the moments in their lives they felt the spark Joe feels, and the roles that put them “in the zone.”

Soul is available on Disney+ from December 25, 2020. 


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