Pixar’s Soul Releasing on Disney+ Without Mulan's Premier Access Fee

Disney+ subscribers will unwrap Pixar's Soul on Christmas Day at no extra charge. The latest Disney film to skip theaters for streaming following the additions of Artemis Fowl and The One and Only Ivan to the service, Soul joins Mulan as the second big-budgeted would-be blockbuster to release to Disney+ in the wake of ongoing movie theater closures. Unlock Mulan, which required subscribers to pay an additional $29.99 on top of their monthly fee to access the movie, Pixar's Soul will exclusively join the Disney+ library starting December 25.

Soul is now the first Pixar feature film to release straight-to-streaming. In late March, just two weeks after it debuted in theaters, Disney sent Pixar's Onward to premium video-on-demand in the wake of theater closures caused by the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic. Onward was available to purchase on digital platforms for two weeks before being added to the Disney+ library, without additional cost, on April 3.

The decision to shift Soul to streaming comes one week after MGM and Universal pushed No Time to Die, the James Bond installment previously set for November 11, to April of next year. In the wake of No Time to Die's delay, Regal Cinemas owner Cineworld announced the temporary shuttering of all 536 of its locations across the United States and the UK.

Soul was to open November 20, having already moved off its original date of June 19. It now releases to Disney+, the crown jewel of the company, which has amassed more than 60 million subscribers — reaching the service's five-year goal less than a year after Disney+ launched in November 2019.

After announcing the numbers on an August investor's call, CEO Bob Chapek said the company continues to "build on the incredible success of Disney+ as we grow our global direct-to-consumer businesses" despite the "ongoing challenges" of the pandemic.

What is it that makes you...YOU? Pixar Animation Studios' all-new feature film "Soul" introduces Joe Gardner (voice of Jamie Foxx) – a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe teams up with a precocious soul, 22 (voice of Tina Fey), who has never understood the appeal of the human experience. As Joe desperately tries to show 22 what's great about living, he may just discover the answers to some of life's most important questions.

Directed by Pete Docter (Up, Inside Out) and starring Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Ahmir-Khalib Thompson, and Daveed Diggs, Soul releases exclusively on Disney+ on December 25. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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