The 78th Golden Globe Awards are off to an excellent start, as Disney-Pixar’s 2020 film ‘Soul’ has won the Best Animated Feature award! ‘Soul’ marked the first time a Disney-Pixar film has had a Black lead.
The movie follows Joe Gardener (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a jazz musician and music teacher who teeters on death following a fall down a manhole. Gardener spends the core of the film tethered to his passion, music, but ultimately realizes that his pursuit is not all life has to offer. In the end, he has a better understanding of what our earthly experiences are truly all about and that we can spend our time caring for others.
“For me to be able to say, and be proud to say, [I’m] the first African-American lead in Disney-Pixar, that’s amazing. That feels good,” Foxx said to Variety in 2020. “In my career, I’ve never had to apologize for being Black,” he added. “I was on ‘In Living Color’ — I had a Black boss, Black writers, Black creators. Then with ‘The Jamie Foxx Show’ it was all Black. So, I’ve never had to worry about turning my Black up or turning my Black down. I’ve just been me and it is always worked out for me. When I do that, great things come out of it.”
Supporting cast members in ‘Soul’ included Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Questlove and more. It was released exclusively on Disney+ on Christmas Day 2020.
The film grossed over $120M worldwide and is considered one of Pixar’s best works.
A few additional Golden Globe winners of the night include: Daniel Kaluuya (Best Supporting Actor [Film]) and John Boyega (Best Supporting Actor in A Television Supporting Role.)
Congratulations to Disney-Pixar and the amazing cast for bringing this much-needed story to life!