Jamie Foxx is voicing the lead character in Disney-Pixar’s new animated film “Soul,” and with the role he’s made history.
“Honored to be the first ever African American lead in a Pixar film,” tweeted Foxx on March 11. “100 days away. I cannot wait for you all to see this beautiful story.”
The film is about a middle school jazz teacher named Joe, played by Foxx.
After having a freak accident, Joe’s soul departs from his body, and he ends up in a place called “You Seminar,” which works on souls so they’ll be ready to be given to newborn babies.
Plus, all of this happens to Joe after he scores a gig as a professional jazz musician, something he’s always dreamed of becoming.
A trailer for the film was released on March 12, and it’s already been watched on YouTube well over 1 million times.
“Is this heaven?” Joe asks someone after arriving at “You Seminar.”
“No, it’s the great before,” a female voice tells him. “This is where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth.”
“Soul” also features the voice of Questlove and Phylicia Rashad.
“[It’s] an exploration of where should your focus be,” the director of the film, Pete Docter, told Entertainment Weekly. “What are the things that, at the end of the day, are really going to be the important things that you look back on and go, ‘I spent a worthy amount of my limited time on Earth worrying or focused on that?’”
After Foxx shared his tweet about being the first black lead in a Pixar film, he received a lot of congratulatory messages.
“Smashing it as always. Respect,” someone tweeted.
“Something to look forward to. This is going to be great,” wrote another fan.
“#thankyou for being you and making a #difference with #pixar and #disney,” a third comment read.
“Soul” hits theaters on June 19.
