Soul, 2020

Soul is a 2020 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, directed by Pete Docter, and written by Docter, Mike Jones, and Kemp Powers. It stars the voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, and Angela Bassett. The film centers on a music teacher Joe Gardner (Foxx) seeking to reunite his soul and his body after they are separated, just before his big break as a jazz musician.

Docter conceived Soul in January 2016, working from his contemplations on the origins of human personalities and the concept of determinism. The film's producers consulted various jazz musicians including Herbie Hancock and Terri Lyne Carrington, and animated its musical sequences using the sessions of musician Jon Batiste as reference. Apart from Batiste's original jazz compositions, musicians Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross also composed the film's score. Production on Soul lasted for four years, on an approximate $150 million budget.

Soul premiered at the London Film Festival on October 11, 2020, and was scheduled to be theatrically released on November 20. However, the feature was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Soul being released direct-to-streaming on Disney+ on December 25, 2020, and in theaters in countries without the streaming service. Soul was well-received by the media for its craftsmanship, story, characters, and musical score. Organizations like the National Board of Review and American Film Institute named the film as one of the top 10 films of 2020. Soul was nominated for three awards at the 93rd Academy Awards season, winning two, and received numerous accolades. It is the first Pixar film to feature a Black lead.