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- culture
- December 25, 2020
Disney and Pixar’s 'Soul' arrives Christmas Day
"Soul" is Pixar's first film with a Black lead character.
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The film's co-director, Pete Docter (\"Up,\" \"Inside Out\"), spoke to \"Entertainment Tonight\" about the details behind Joe's character and the respect that went into crafting him.
\"Once we knew he was a jazz musician, we felt like, 'Jazz grew out of Black culture. How can we not make him Black?'\" he told the outlet.
\"Once you start researching jazz at all, it's Black foundational music,\" one of the film's producers, Dana Murray, said in a separate interview with Polygon. \"So, at that point, we were like, 'Well, we need help.' So we found Kemp [Powers] and that's when he came on.\"
Powers said he used his \"own experiences\" as a Black man to help shape the character.
\"I don't want to speak for anyone else, but there might've been some fear. Like, we don't want to mess this up,\" he said. \"I just started pouring my ideas based on my own experiences into him. But I was also really clear from the beginning that I'm one guy from New York who happens to be Black. I don't represent all Black people.\"
At a panel discussion for \"Soul,\" Powers explained more about why it was necessary for many Black voices to weigh in on all aspects of the film.
\"While people who are from my background, ethnically, and from my city might recognize a lot of the elements of Joe's life and my life,\" he began, noting that both him and Joe are around the same age, 45 or 46, and grew up in New York City, \"I don't represent every single Black man's experience.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/soul2_1607459387326_hpEmbed_31x13_384.jpg\")
This led to the creation of the film's \"Internal Culture Trust,\" which was comprised of Black Pixar employees who provided guidance while the film was made, Murray said during the panel.
They also reached out to notable names, like cinematographer Bradford Young, pianist Herbie Hancock, jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, musician Jon Batiste and more to weigh in on the film.
\"This group watched our story reels, gave us story notes, they looked at the character designs and the sets all as they were being built,\" Powers said. \"They even helped us review the animation.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/soul3_1607459387327_hpEmbed_31x13_384.jpg\")
\"It was really important to us that we didn't just invite people in to rubber stamp the work that we were doing,\" he added.
The Grammy-nominated musician Batiste created the film's jazz compositions and arrangements, and Academy Award winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score of \"Soul.\"
Batiste, who also fronts the house band for \"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,\" said it was a \"privilege and an honor\" to create music for the animated film.
He described the creation process as \"a great balance gone between two different worlds -- the great beyond where souls are born and the jazz realm of New York City in the clubs and in the scene in the jazz world.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/soul1_1607459387315_hpEmbed_31x13_384.jpg\")
\"Soul\" is available for streaming on Disney+ on Dec. 25. A subscription to Disney+ costs $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. There is also a bundle option that features Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $12.99 per month.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and \"Good Morning America.\"
Editor's Note: This story was originally published on December 14, 2020.
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