Like Mulan before it, Pixar’s Soul is coming straight to Disney+. But unlike Mulan, you won’t have to pay 30 extra dollars to watch it.
It is happening again. After Artemis Fowl and Mulan both skipped theaters in favor of releasing on Disney’s streaming service, Pixar’s latest animated feature — Soul — will be hitting Disney+ on December 25. Merry Christmas.
This is obviously bad news for theaters, which at this point have been closed or struggling for a long time thanks to the coronavirus, and the recent rash of movie delays isn’t helping. But if you have Disney+, this could be a good watch. Pixar is one of the most reliable studios in the business and Soul looks like another hit: it’s about a music teacher (Jamie Foxx) who’s soul is knocked out of the his body, which he now has to find a way back to. The little souls remind me a little of the personalities from Inside Out; Pete Doctor directed both movies, so that makes sense. This movie will rely more on music than the last, with a score by Emmy winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and jazz music from Jon Batiste.
“The world can be an exhausting and frustrating place – but it’s also full of unexpected joys, even in seemingly mundane things,” Docter said. “Soul investigates what’s really important in our lives, a question we’re all asking these days. I hope it will bring some humor and fun to people at a time when everyone can surely use that.”
And if you’re wondering: no, if you already have Disney+, you won’t have to pay an extra $30 to watch Soul like you had to do with Mulan. I’m guessing that venture didn’t produce returns for Disney, and I’m happy to see them drop it.
As for places where Disney+ isn’t available, Soul will still be released theatrically, although we don’t have a date yet.
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