Pixar's Soul

[D82]

Jon Batiste plays part of an original song from the film, titled "Born to Play", on the piano in this video.

According to this article, that's the only original song he wrote for the film; the rest are instrumental compositions and arrangements:

Jazz extraordinaire, Jon Batiste, provided the original jazz arrangements and compositions for Soul. He even wrote an original song for the film’s soundtrack titled “Born to Play”.

I'm still confused, though, because that snippet from the song doesn't include any lyrics, just music. Although, it's possible the full song will have words as well. We'll see.

Thank you for that link D82! It was a great, really interesting read! But they sounded like no other film is made with everyone giving ideas and the best ones getting picked. That's how every Disney animated film is made, long before Pixar!

Yeah, I've noticed articles like these sometimes exaggerate and say things like that when they promote a new film.

[Sotiris]

I'm still confused, though, because that snippet from the song doesn't include any lyrics, just music. Although, it's possible the full song will have words as well.

Yeah, it's weird he and Disney referred to it as a song, but the performance was just instrumental. Perhaps they didn't want to give it away yet? Still, he could have sung a verse or two. Interestingly, the jazz club Joe goes to audition is also called "Born to Play".

By the way, reading the reviews for Soul, it looks like the message of the movie is the same as the one in The Princess and the Frog. When Tiana realizes what's really important in life by saying "My Daddy never did get what he wanted. But he had what he needed. He had love. He never lost sight of what was really important" that applies to Joe by the end of his arc. At the end, he realizes that he may not have gotten his dream career, but he had what truly mattered; the love and appreciation of his family, friends, and community.

[D82]

Yeah, it's weird he and Disney referred to it as a song, but the performance was just instrumental. Perhaps they didn't want to give it away yet? Still, he could have sung a verse or two.

Maybe the song is mostly instrumental but has some lyrics that qualifies it as a song, like for example "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky. Speaking of that song, maybe everybody here already knows it, but I was surprised when I learned that the lyricists of that song, Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, also composed the songs for The Rescuers, which was released one year later. And they clearly did the same with the opening song there, "The Journey", which like the Rocky song just has around 30 words in total.

Interestingly, the jazz club Joe goes to audition is also called "Born to Play".

Wasn't it called "The Half Note"? At least that's the name it has in this still, but maybe it has changed.

By the way, reading the reviews for Soul, it looks like the message of the movie is the same as the one in The Princess and the Frog. When Tiana realizes what's really important in life by saying "My Daddy never did get what he wanted. But he had what he needed. He had love. He never lost sight of what was really important" that applies to Joe by the end of his arc. At the end, he realizes that he may not have gotten his dream career, but he had what truly mattered; the love and appreciation of his family, friends, and community.

I think you're probably right. I already imagined he wouldn't get his dream job at the end, but would learn to appreciate more the job he currently has and the value of passing the knowledge he has to his students. Maybe he'll realize that by trying to teach 22.

[Farerb]

I hope that he realizes that he had good life and move on. It will be courageous of Pixar to do that.

[Sotiris]

Wasn't it called "The Half Note"? At least that's the name it has in this still, but maybe it has changed.

If it's already in the finished film, it's not going to change. Perhaps "Born to Play" was an earlier name or Batiste misspoke. Maybe I'm the one didn't understand well. What do you infer from the following quote?

We channeled all of the greats that I had the pleasure of playing in jazz clubs with around the world, as well as the ones who I’ve listened to for years since I was a little boy, like Joe when he walked in the club. I wanted to channel their spirit through the types of compositions – the first thing that Joe hears when he walks into the club, “Born to Play.” That’s kind of a swing feel with some of the different harmonic textures. I imagine he was walking in the club it was probably around the 70s or the 80s and the cats were playing in that way. It was the neo-traditionalist movement during that time. So, very specific insider references, inside baseball for folks who out there can hear it.

Source: https://freshfiction.tv/interview-music ... xars-soul/

I already imagined he wouldn't get his dream job at the end, but would learn to appreciate more the job he currently has and the value of passing the knowledge he has to his students. Maybe he'll realize that by trying to teach 22.

But if he's still alive and returns to his body, why wouldn't he try again though? I mean, I get him not being obsessed about it anymore and appreciate what he already has in his life, but he could still audition again at the same club or even at a different one. It wouldn't make sense to not give it another go. By the way, do you think it's possible that at the end, Joe doesn't return to his body, but he accepts his fate and he goes through the Great Beyond? I don't think Pixar has the guts to do that, but I think that would be a brave and unexpected move. After realizing he led a great life, he'd no longer have regrets about his career which caused him to travel back to Earth in the first place.

[blackcauldron85]

Wasn't it called "The Half Note"? At least that's the name it has in this still, but maybe it has changed.

If it's already in the finished film, it's not going to change. Perhaps "Born to Play" was an earlier name or Batiste misspoke. Maybe I'm the one didn't understand well. What do you infer from the following quote?

We channeled all of the greats that I had the pleasure of playing in jazz clubs with around the world, as well as the ones who I’ve listened to for years since I was a little boy, like Joe when he walked in the club. I wanted to channel their spirit through the types of compositions – the first thing that Joe hears when he walks into the club, “Born to Play.” That’s kind of a swing feel with some of the different harmonic textures.

I know you weren't asking me, but because he says "compositions" & the "thing that Joe hears," I think he is referring to "Born to Play" being a song, a song with a swing feel...

[D82]

If it's already in the finished film, it's not going to change. Perhaps "Born to Play" was an earlier name or Batiste misspoke. Maybe I'm the one didn't understand well. What do you infer from the following quote?

We channeled all of the greats that I had the pleasure of playing in jazz clubs with around the world, as well as the ones who I’ve listened to for years since I was a little boy, like Joe when he walked in the club. I wanted to channel their spirit through the types of compositions – the first thing that Joe hears when he walks into the club, “Born to Play.” That’s kind of a swing feel with some of the different harmonic textures. I imagine he was walking in the club it was probably around the 70s or the 80s and the cats were playing in that way. It was the neo-traditionalist movement during that time. So, very specific insider references, inside baseball for folks who out there can hear it.

Source: https://freshfiction.tv/interview-music ... xars-soul/

Well, the way that sentence is written it seems to me it could mean both the name of the club and the name of the song, but I think blackcauldron85 is right; if we take into the account the context (and the fact that we know that's the title of the song), he has to be talking about the song.

But if he's still alive and returns to his body, why wouldn't he try again though? I mean, I get him not being obsessed about it anymore and appreciate what he already has in his life, but he could still audition again at the same club or even at a different one. It wouldn't make sense to not give it another go. By the way, do you think it's possible that at the end, Joe doesn't return to his body, but he accepts his fate and he goes through the Great Beyond? I don't think Pixar has the guts to do that, but I think that would be a brave and unexpected move. After realizing he led a great life, he'd no longer have regrets about his career which caused him to travel back to Earth in the first place.

You're right, that makes more sense. Maybe he'll miss the current opportunity he has, but won't give up on his dream completely. I think that would be a good way to end the movie and a bit different and more realistic than the typical happy ending. Regarding the other possibility you mention, I don't think they'll dare to do that. It's a children's movie after all, and the movie is probably too complex for them already without adding a sad ending.

[Sotiris]

Walt Disney Records to Release Two Soundtrack Albums for Pixar’s ‘Soul’
http://filmmusicreporter.com/2020/11/03 ... xars-soul/

[D82]

Walt Disney Records to Release Two Soundtrack Albums for Pixar’s ‘Soul’
http://filmmusicreporter.com/2020/11/03 ... xars-soul/

So, one soundtrack will feature just the parts from the score composed by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and the other the compositions by Jon Batiste? Why don't they release just one soundtrack, but with two discs instead? I'd prefer all the score was included in the same release.

[Sotiris]

So, one soundtrack will feature just the parts from the score composed by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and the other the compositions by Jon Batiste? Why don't they release just one soundtrack, but with two discs instead? I'd prefer all the score was included in the same release.

The report is basing there being two separate soundtracks only on the Vinyl release. The CD and digital release could very well feature the entire score together. By the way, on the cover of the Batiste LP, it says "jazz compositions and arrangements by Jon Batiste" whereas in the description it says "the jazz songs in upcoming Pixar film, Soul, were written and performed by Jon Batiste". It seems Disney still can't make up their mind if the tracks are songs or compositions.

[D82]

The report is basing there being two separate soundtracks only on the Vinyl release. The CD and digital release could very well feature the entire score together.

Oh, it's true. I hope the CD and the digital album feature the entire score.

By the way, on the cover of the Batiste LP, it says "jazz compositions and arrangements by Jon Batiste" whereas in the description it says "the jazz songs in upcoming Pixar film, Soul, were written and performed by Jon Batiste". It seems Disney still can't make up their mind if the tracks are songs or compositions.

How strange. I think I'm now more curious to know what these compositions really are than to listen to the music itself.

By the way, I've just noticed that on the cover of Batiste's LP, it says "Music from and inspired by Soul", so I guess it includes music or songs that are not featured in the film. That's also an indication that they probably haven't divided the score into two separate releases, but this is the same that has been done previously with films like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia.

[Sotiris]

D23 magazine.


Source: https://twitter.com/Pixar/status/1324411154173669377

[blackcauldron85]

^That's a really classy cover!

I have a Disney credit card, and with me not going to the Parks anytime soon due to Corona, I used my points to buy some stuff on ShopDisney.com, including the Soul Read-Along book! It said to expect 2-3 weeks for shipping for that (and another item), but when I get it, I can post spoilers!!!

[D82]

Music video for the song "Embark" by JJ Lin, which I guess is an end credits song exclusively for China.

[blackcauldron85]

^ It says "This video is private." Were you able to watch it?

[D82]

It says "This video is private." Were you able to watch it?

When I posted it the video wasn't private, but now it is. Does this other link work for you?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI4P3Z8yiUY

[blackcauldron85]

^ Yes, that one worked! Thank you very much for sharing it- I have no idea what he was singing, but that was a great song!!!

[Sotiris]

Thanks for the song D82! I really liked it! At first, I thought it might be a cover of a song from the movie, but as the song progressed it became clear it's not. Its pop sound is too different from the jazz-infused music palette of Soul. To my knowledge, this marks only the third Pixar film, after Inside Out and Coco, where an original song was commissioned for an overseas market.

Something tells me I'm going to like this one more than any of the song(s) from the actual film. I already prefer it to the snippet we heard from "Born to Play". I don't count "It's All Right" or "Parting Ways" as they were not written specifically for the film.

[Disney Duster]

A long time ago, in 2008, when Pixar’s Wall-E first came out, I was so mad at Pixar being considered better than Disney I tried to hurt them by pointing out robots couldn’t feel love like they do in Wall-E, because they don’t have souls. I was stupid. People were saying why couldn’t the robots be alive and fall in love in the same way other anthropomorphic objects in Disney or Pixar films did? I should have listened to them, but I didn’t get what they were saying. Then a member named TM2-Megatron started debating with me over if humans are only alive and have their personality from souls, why robots could be just like humans, and if God exists, and his points against mine were so convincing it sent me into a deep depression.

Today I am still deeply depressed, and will never get out of it till I die, but I at least I have some sort of revenge. Pixar is now making a film going completely against what TM2-Megatron argued, and is all in favor of what I argued for. Here is what transpired between me and TM2-Megatron:

viewtopic.php?p=400234#p400234

You can't just "give" someone a personality in the act of creating, or building, them. Personalities develop over time as our neural nets (a term used for biological as well as technological iterations) become more complex based on each of our individual experiences, etc. Human infants have no personality, the way you define it. They're as blank a slate as a new, unformatted hard drive with only a bit of firmware (instincts, etc.) to tell it how to run once it's turned on. Humans are very comparable to machines; we're just electrochemical as opposed to robotic/electrical.

Just as in a human, a robot with AI would have to grow and learn, and develop a distinct personality over time. Facts can be programmed; personality can't.

As for everything you said on personality, I believe otherwise, especially with what I've heard mothers say about their new babies. Hey, I'm going to go more with my own experiences and what many others have said, not just you on the internet.

lol, so you believe an individual's personality is built-in from day 1... that experiences mean nothing? Based on whatever limited experiences and direct knowledge you referred to, and the incredibly sentimental and (understandably) optimistic claims mothers make about their newborn children? Everyone's baby is always gifted in some way, in their parents' estimation. That's almost a universal constant in itself. And it's certainly not something one should be making any kind of determination based on. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a medical professional, or cognitive specialist that would agree with your notions. Innate biological factors and genetic predisposations can have an effect on an individual's personality as it forms, but experiences are, first and foremost, the building blocks of a mind.

And here is what Soul is saying:

Jazz Music and the Afterlife: Here's How Pixar's Soul Came to Be
https://io9.gizmodo.com/jazz-music-and- ... 1845281613

“At the beginning, [the pitch] was really just ‘Where do babies come from?’” Soul director Pete Docter said during a recent online press event. “And I don’t mean the obvious ‘A man and woman get together.’ It’s like, ‘Why is it that my kids—I have two kids—each one is so different?’ Same genetic stock, same environment, and yet each one reacts totally different. How is that possible?”

“So we just explored that idea of where did our personalities come from?” Docter continued. “How is it that we’re seemingly born into this world with a sense of who we are even before we have a chance to interact with anything? I think most parents have kind of had that experience of watching their kids start with something already instead of being a blank slate. And that’s kind of a miracle and kind of a brain scramble. So that was the pitch.”

The answer, of course, was a person’s soul. But how do we get one? What exactly is a soul? These are impossibly big questions people have asked for generations, which only meant Docter and his team knew they had to answer them. They just didn’t know how.

Thank God. I wonder how TM2-Megatron is dealing with all this right now. Is he pissed of? Is he thinking of what transpired between him and I? Is he even alive and aware of this film? I wonder it all…

[D82]

New still with its caption:

Middle-school band teacher Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx, center) journeys through the afterlife and meets a precocious soul (Tina Fey) and a spiritual sign twirler (Graham Norton) in Disney/Pixar's "Soul."

Source: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertain ... 736116001/

I have no idea what he was singing, but that was a great song!!!

I've noticed that the lyrics of the song are in the video description. They're of course in Chinese, but if you use an online translator maybe you can get an idea of what he's singing about.

To my knowledge, this marks only the third Pixar film, after Inside Out and Coco, where an original song was commissioned for an overseas market.

There's also this song from Spain that was made for the end credits of The Good Dinosaur I think I posted once. It was written and performed by a singer who was in the Spanish equivalent of American Idol.

And, Disney Duster, I'm sorry to hear you got so depressed due to your conversations with that user. He had the right to have a different opinion than you, but could've said things nicer and been more respectful to you. And in my opinion, he was completely wrong. I'm actually surprised he could think we're a blank slate when we're born. It's true that life experiences, education, etc. can have an important role in shaping our personality, but I'd say most of who we are is already there when we're born. And I've seen the same that Pete Docter says. My siblings and I, for example, have received the same education and most of our experiences when we were children were similar, but we couldn't be more different from one another.