The director of Pixar’s Soul revealed why kids seem to be enjoying the music from the movie. Kemp Powers sat down with Jon Batiste for Rolling Stone and discussed the role of Jazz in the film. Now, that kind of music and small children are not usually grouped together. Even acknowledging that fact, Powers and his team set out to prove that something being well-made is all that matters. That passion for a subject transcends any age group and can be seen on multiple levels in life. (Heck, that synopsis probably applies to the film at large too.) So, the Soul team wasn’t intimidated by the idea that they would have to drastically alter their approach to the source material. All Batiste and company have to do is play the hits essentially and everything will work out.
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“A lot of people wonder when you pitch a movie like Soul, would kids be into it?” Powers explained. “And the main reason why I don’t think we ever were really concerned was because we knew that if we presented the music, performed in the dynamic way that jazz music is performed, that kids would lean into it, in the same way that all of us leaned in while watching Sesame Street or Tom & Jerry. Kids actually have a very visceral, natural connection to music.”
The Late Show musician also talked to IndieWire about making the soundtrack. It would seem as though his own experiences as a performer leaked into the work they released.
“The film is tackling a few heavy existential questions,” Batiste mused. “Where does our soul come from? What is our purpose in life? And I had a lot of experience as a musician that I could bring to Joe, trying to get his big break. I wanted to find some jazz music that had an ethereal and very universal, accessible form with melodies and harmonies that had that same spirit. So there’s an optimism in them, and it’s also a bit melancholy at the same time, and there’s ways that you can modulate and change the key, and it just hits you [emotionally].”
Did you love the music in Soul? Let us know down in the comments!
