If you’ve got Disney+ in your home and are a Pixar fan, you no doubt have seen the films Soul, Turning Red and Luca. If not, it’s likely that you haven’t since those three films spent little to no time in theaters. Their debuts on the streaming service were sort of a pick-me-up to those stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this year these three animated movies are going to the big screen for proper screenings. After Disney’s disappointing box office sales of 2023, these screening will no doubt be a welcome boost for the Mouse House.
First up is Soul coming to theaters on January 12 along with the Pixar short film, Burrow. This is not only a good film to share jazz music to a younger audience, it also has a great message for the older ones. In fact, of the three movies, this one is probably resonate more with adults.
Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, Soul is about Joe Gardner, a jazz pianist from New York who finally gets a chance to really show his talent, but it sidetracked by a number of things that help land him in a land that sits between earth and heaven. The 2020 movie won two Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score. It features the voice talents of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove and Angela Bassett.
Coming to theaters on February 9, Turning Red is quite the departure of other Pixar movies. The 2022 animated film is a bit edgy, features straight talk about mother/daughter relationships, puberty and Chinese culture. Directed by Domee Shi, Turning Red is the first Pixar movie to be solely directed by a woman. (She also directed a favorite short film of mine, Bao.) The movie funny and touching and while the targeted audience is women and girls, boy and men will learn a thing or two about the female persuasion.
The story involves the “perfect” 13-year-old Mei Lee girl who will do anything for her mother but feel torn when her friends want her time too. Then suddenly, when she least expects it, she turns into a giant red panda every time she gets upset or excited. The movie comes with the short film Kitbull and features the voice talents of Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Jordan Fisher, Finneas O’Connell, Topher Ngo, Grayson Villanueva and Josh Levi.
Luca brings up the rear coming to theaters on March 22. It is the tail – tale about Luca Paguro, a sea monster living on the Italian Riviera who despite what his parents tell him, ventures up to the surface to find that outside of water, he looks a human. He soon becomes friends with two kids while keeping his secret from his parents. Despite the premise, this growing of age film tells a surprisingly realistic tale about true friendship.
Directed by Enrico Casarosa, the 2021 film will be shown along with the hilarious short film from 2000, For the Birds. The movie features the voice talents of Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Main images: Disney/Pixar
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