Since launching on Christmas Day, Pixar’s Soul has been a huge success for Disney +. Exploring the afterlife and the abstract idea of a “soul”, but in the delightfully accessible way in which Pixar stands out, Soul it went through many different versions before deciding on the lively wonder that audiences recently had the pleasure of experiencing. Producer Dana Murray, along with directors Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, has already revealed Souls original ending, and would have left Jamie Foxx’s Joe Gardner in a very different place. Be warned, big spoilers to follow.
“For a long time, Joe went to The Great Beyond. There was a lot of debate, but I think the more we saw him live his life thinking about his mother, Libba, and in all these different factors, it felt like the right ending, that he needed to be able to go and enjoy his life the way he wanted, because he had learned a lot during the film. “
Powers added that at the same time there were several different endings in mind, and he even revealed some sparse details of each.
“We have versions of the ending where Joe doesn’t go back to his body, where he actually gets dead. We have versions of the ending where you see Joe on Earth a year later. Man, that ending generated more debate than I think another element of the film . “
It seems that the ending was one of the biggest problems of Soul, with Docter explaining that each outcome had its own group of passionate supporters.
“Ah yes, there were definitely camps. Because I think people thought it was cheating to let him back. On the other hand, in terms of history, you can’t teach this guy how to enjoy life the right way and then steal it So it just didn’t seem like the right way to go. Although that was the original draft. At the time, I was thinking, “The most selfless act you could do is move on – I had the chance. I’ve already enjoyed life. Now, you must have that chance, you, 22, who didn’t dare fall. “It sounded poetic and good, but in the end, in the movie, every scene was Joe saying,” Wait a second, I didn’t live it right before. “So it didn’t seem right at the end to say,” Okay, go ahead! “
Ultimately, Docter was concerned about having to show the public much of the afterlife, fearing that his description would never match what the public had in their heads.
“That version he was, like, at peace and came in. But there was another version where he really went to The Great Beyond, there was a scene there and then he came back. And we realized that we were probably playing with fire, although it was very esoteric. I don’t think it was very explicit in terms of, ‘This is life after death!’ It was more abstract, yet we decided: ‘Eh, probably dangerous.’ And, ultimately, it is not suitable for the film, the most important. “
Soul follows Joe Gardner, a high school band teacher who has a unique chance to play at the best jazz club in town. But a small misstep takes you from the streets of New York to The Great Before – a fantastic place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before going to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe joins an early soul, 22, who never understood the appeal of human experience. While Joe desperately tries to show what is good in life, he can simply discover the answers to some of life’s most important questions.
The film features the voices of Jamie Foxx as Joe Gardner, with Tina Fey as the trapped soul with a blurred view of life, 22. Beside them, stars Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Ahmir Questlove Thompson and Daveed Diggs. Soul is directed by Oscar winner Pete Docter, who once again joins Pixar after working on hits like Inside out and Above and is co-directed by One night in Miami Kemp Powers with the production of Oscar nominee Dana Murray.
Like many of Pixar’s previous ventures, Soul went through several different iterations before the creative team finally came up with an approach. At the same time, the film was going in the direction of being a robbery film similar to Ocean 11. “All of our films take very different paths and you would be shocked by what you saw when things were at the beginning of development and where they ended up being,” Kristen Lester, history supervisor at Soul, revealed last year.
“Sometimes they are very, very different films and yes, the first draft of the film, it was more of a robbery film that Joe was trying to get back into his life basically through, I don’t remember, doing a lot of heist-y things. And I remember that we reached the end of that version of the film and it seemed that, again, as I said, to honor the subject and the thing I was exploring, which is What gives meaning to life, what is our purpose in life? Pete was responding. And it looked like that version of the movie wasn’t doing it justice, so we had to take it out … Okay, it’s not Ocean Eleven’s. What can we do to delve into the subject that people really want to talk about? “
Since launch, Soul it was universally acclaimed and described as one of Pixar’s “most ambitious existentials”, as well as one of the studio’s best films, thanks to its deep message about enjoying the little things in life. Soul also saw a huge increase in the number of Disney + subscribers, which could very well lead the studio to use the same launch strategy of skipping cinemas in the future.
After all the comings and goings, Soul it ends on such a beautiful note that it is difficult to imagine anything else has ever been considered. Soul is available for streaming now on Disney +. This is courtesy of Entertainment Tonight.
Topics: Soul, Disney, Disney Plus, Streaming