Former US President Barack Obama, who has a wide range of interests, spends a lot of time watching film and television works on weekdays. At the end of each year, he would choose the best works that he recognized and recommend them to everyone. One animation that stands out on his 2020 list, which he recently announced, is “Soul,” a Disney-produced film from Pixar Animation Studios that will be unveiled on Christmas Day.
Originally, 2020 was supposed to be a good year for Pixar: The production cycle of a Pixar feature film is usually five years, so there is usually only one release a year, and this year there are two new films, “1/2 Magic” and “Mind and Soul.”
Unfortunately, the former was released at a time when the new coronavirus outbreak began raging in North America, and it could only be ended hastily, resulting in a new low for Pixar’s box office. The “Mind and Soul Journey” was originally planned to be released in North American theaters on November 20, but the development of the local epidemic has been not optimistic, and Disney Group finally decided to pull it from the theaters, and instead it will be launched on its streaming platform Disney+ on December 25. For a carefully produced 3D animated film, it is still “overqualified” to watch on a 2D screen.
Joy, the protagonist of “Soul and Soul Journey”, dreams of becoming a jazz pianist, but for a long time, he has not made his mark, and can only make a living as a temporary music teacher in a middle school. On the very day that he was expected to become a formal teacher, the famous jazz ensemble in New York asked him to fill in the class, and he decided to seize the opportunity no matter what.
Unexpectedly, overexcited Joey capsized the boat in the gutter and met an accident, struggling to survive. Seeing that his soul will be sent to the paradise, the heart of the unwilling Joy accidentally into the “born place” – a special training for the reserve souls of the Earth, and accidentally become the stubborn “twenty-two” teacher.
It turns out that each reserve soul must find its own personality, characteristics, preferences, and most importantly, the spark of life in order to become a complete soul. However, after Copernicus, Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and other great men taught twenty-two, has not been able to find a “spark”, no interest in the toson, became a underachiever.
Joey originally planned to let twenty-two get the qualification to go to the earth, and then grab it to use it on himself, but he tried his best, and failed to arouse twenty-two to go to the world for a walk.
The two had to take a side road, who accidentally, ignorant twenty-two into Joey’s body, and Joey’s soul into the body of a cat, his meows only twenty-two can understand.
As a result, Joy can only guide the twenty-two in their own body how to behave and how to fight for the opportunity to perform. In this process, twenty-two has a new understanding of life, so that the two have a conflict.
Will Joey’s soul ever return to his body? Does he have a chance to live? Where does twenty-two go from here? Here, let’s not continue to reveal the plot, may wish to leave a little suspense, to make watching the movie more fascinating.
Like director Peter Doggett’s Oscar-winning animated feature predecessors “Up” and “Inside Out,” “Inside Out” is a fairy tale for grown-ups, but a fun setting that kids can also grasp; The theme is not conveyed by preaching, but by the story itself.
According to Doggett, the unique idea of reservist soul in the film was 23 years in the making. “[The idea] came from my son, who is now 23 years old, but has had his own personality since he was born.” Doggett said. “Where did that come from? I used to think that we develop our personality through our interactions with the world, but it’s clear that we are born with a specific and unique view of ourselves.”
In the film, fantasy and reality are constructed to complement each other. We can’t choose whether to be human or not, and we can’t know what will happen after we die, but we can decide how to live. Thus, in Mind and Soul, the unknown becomes the stage where the imagination is fully displayed: the world after death is designed as a minimalist future wind in black and white, while the world before birth is as colorful as a spring garden; The 3D effect is even more immersive for the audience.
For art director Steve Pilcher, the key to shaping “Born Place” is a special softness. “Almost everything is a little blurry,” he says, “everything is very soft and ethereal, and there’s some transparency, with very soft, low saturation colors.” We want to make sure that the spirits fit perfectly into the world, but don’t disappear, so they’re a little brighter than their surroundings.”
According to executive producer Dan Scanlon, Doggett’s trademark imagination is on full display in “Born” : “You can see from Peter’s previous films’ Up ‘and’ Inside Out ‘that he loves animation and pushing the limits of animation expression.
In Mind and Soul, he and his team strive to go further than ever before, to show audiences a world they have never seen before in the form of a mind academy. For Pitt and his team, the restraint required to show something new was more important than the frills.
Born in a world of simplicity, full of bold, beautiful shapes, abstract architecture never seen before in reality. It takes courage to express an idea with less, but if done well it can be a lot easier.”
The real part is the modern metropolis of New York, including the yellow buses running through the streets, the jazz bars filling the basement, the crowds of people waiting for traffic lights on the corner, etc., are all unique scenery of New York. “As soon as we got into jazz, we started exploring New York City.” Peter Doggett said, “Although jazz didn’t originate in New York, New York is the jazz capital of America. It is also a cultural hub, full of immigrants and influences from around the world, providing a rich and vibrant backdrop for the film.”
“But the decision wasn’t just about the music.” Co-director Kemp Powers, who grew up in New York, added, “It’s about the energy in this setting.” Psychic Journey is about the meaning of life and the connections we have with each other. In New York City, people bump into each other every day, and diversity is evident on every street. There’s really no other place in the world that comes close.”
The theme of the film is to ask “what makes you who you really are”. Many times, similar themes will be processed into inspirational films that fly together with chicken blood and chicken soup, telling you to work tirelessly in order to achieve your dreams, but “Mind Strange Journey” is a work that has nothing to do with success. It reminds you that as you rush toward your dreams, don’t forget the ordinary moments that touched you.
Director Peter Doggett spoke from a personal experience: “I remember one day I was riding my bike and I stopped to pick a raspberry. It was warmed by the sun and was the most delicious raspberry I’ve ever tasted. I still vividly remember that almost meaningless moment.
Any transcendent moment in our lives can define the meaning of our lives. “Soul and Soul is a film that wants to broaden people’s minds from a single focus to a broader consideration of the meaning of life and what we can add to it.”
In addition to the story and theme, the music is also a crucial part of the film. Both the jazz score and the jazz piano were performed by Grammy-nominated Jon Baptiste, and even Joey’s finger movements were captured based on his playing.
Trent Raynor and Attigos Ross of Nine Inch Nails wrote and performed all the music of the Soul world. In terms of voice casting, Jamie Foxx, who won the best Actor Oscar for “Soul King,” provides Joey’s voice, and the mischievous twenty-two is played by Tina Fey, a comedy talent who can write, direct and act.
Although mentioned above, the new work happens to be released in the year of the year, for the painstaking production of Pixar, it is a little pity. But for us viewers who have survived 2020, we may be able to understand the meaning of the film better than any other time.
