Learn About The Awesome Animation In Pixar’s ‘Soul’
Pixar’s newest film Soul tells the story of a middle-school music teacher named Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) who has big dreams of following his lifelong passion for music to jazz-band stardom. However, on the day of his big performance he has a tragic accident and finds himself in The Great Before which is where souls live.
The film which is coming out on Disney+ on December 25th, follows Joe on his quest to return to his life on Earth. Joined by an unborn soul 22 (voiced by Tina Fey) who doesn’t understand what’s so great about humanity, these two opposites team up for an unforgettable adventure.
For those who have been following the history of Pixar, you know that they have been great innovators in animation since Toy Story first debuted 25 years ago. Soul continues that tradition with some incredible animation that is sure to blow you away.
Bringing a Soul to Life
The first thing to be on the lookout for is the way that Pixar visualizes the souls in the film. According to those involved with the project there was a lot of research done and director Pete Docter said that one commonality was that people tend to describe souls as vaporous, non-physical and formless. So then the task became how to create something that doesn’t really have a form.
The filmmakers ultimately became inspired by the science of aerogel which is the lightest solid material on earth and is used in the aerospace industry but needed to find a way to infuse a certain amount of humanity including clear facial features into the souls. It was important that audiences could recognize the expressions and attitudes.
Animation supervisor Jude Brownbill said that for her team the souls were the most difficult thing to animate. She said, “How do you animate characters that break physics, or how do you create a 2D look in a 3D world?”
One of the innovations that Pixar developed specifically to be used in this movie was a brand-new technique of line-work used in bringing the souls to life. Jude explains, “We noticed that clarity was being lost in the face and in the hands, so technical directors in articulation, shading, and tools set about solving this, in a classic case of art challenging the technology and technology inspiring the art.”
The team also had to set up some rules on how the souls could move. This included the decision to use limbs that sort of appear and disappear along with facial features that could move anywhere on the face. Jude said, It’s a long, collaborative process because anything is possible.”
The Counselors
Another aspect of The Great Before that required a lot of forethought was the creation of the beings known as the “Counselors.” These are the ones that make sure that things in The Great Before are ticking along in an orderly fashion. The counselors are described as the universe dumbing itself down so that humans can comprehend it.
In coming up with a look for the Counselors, the filmmakers drew inspiration from Swedish sculpture, nature and light. However the designs they settled upon is genius in its simplicity- A Line! However, this isn’t just any line, as animation supervisor Bobby Podesta clarified, “We’re talking about a living line.” The sculptors at Pixar started creating 3D wire sculptures to help the animation teams in their designs.
Bobby described the process of animating the Counselors, “We began exploring shapes, expressions, movements, and transitions. But the animators didn’t just animate a model. They animated a design. The characters captured that sense of a living line, a piece of art in a form that was understandable, yet still ethereal. So, to achieve the sense of design within the animation, our animators had to pull from their backgrounds as artists to craft a visually stunning performance. And it’s that combination of being both an actor and an artist that raises the bar at Pixar to a level that we hope continues to exceed our audience’s expectations.”
Finding Joe
Now it’s time for the protagonist, the heart of the movie lies with Joe’s passions and journey to Earth. Being able to convey Joe’s personality both as a human and as a soul was a fun challenge for the animators. Joe has the important distinction of being the first Black lead character in a Pixar film which the animators were very mindful of throughout the process. Animator MontaQue Ruffin elaborates, “There’s so much to Black culture and my upbringing that I just want[ed] to fit it all into this film. And being able to do that honorably and responsibly was a blast. We [tried to] capture this feeling of when you walk into a barbershop or when you walk into a tailor shop or [are] walking in the shoes of Joe Gardner, what are the details or the mannerisms? That was the fun challenge.”
The animators were helped along by the voice performance of actor Jamie Foxx who helped enhance Joe’s character. MontaQue explained, “Specifically, Jamie has a lot of energy and he’s a fun, fun personality. Joe as a character is very high-energy and passionate, so we tried to capture a bit of what Jamie provided and we’d get that into Joe, that intensity. He’s following his passion and desperately trying to get back to Earth. We tried to get a lot of that into his human form and his soul version.”
What The Animator’s Are Saying
The animation team was incredibly excited about the project as MontaQue Ruffin said, “Being a part of the creation process was very special [and] unique.” Animation supervisor Bobby Podesta said, “What I’m most looking forward to is not what [the audience is] going to see on the screen, but [what happens] after seeing the film, going back out and seeing the world around them. And the thing that changes between that — from before you experience this film to afterwards.”
Jude Brownbill agrees saying, “That’s why I love working at Pixar and I love the films that we make. We ask those big questions and we ask those big questions of our audience, and they get to reflect on their life and that’s pretty powerful.”
Don’t miss your chance to check out Soul when it arrives on Disney+ on December 25, 2020. Readers are also encouraged to keep following along with MickeyBlog for further Soul news and updates.
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