In Pixar’s Soul, adorable little new souls travel through the You Seminar the “rebranded” name of The Great Before. This is where they pick up their personalities prior to being born. Once they create a full personality, including their spark, they head down to Earth via the Earth Portal.
The new souls are ushered through the You Seminar by a group of counselors, all of whom go by the name Jerry. “We figured if the souls just ran around amok, no one would ever get born,” according to director Pete Doctor. “They need a little bit of steering.”
Each Jerry was created with an uncomplicated shape. “They’re kind of like you took a wire and twisted it into the shape of a person,” says Doctor. “But you didn’t have too much wire. So it’s kind of simple.” In addition to the Jerrys, a similar shape was used for Terry (voice of Rachel House) who keeps track of every soul heading into The Great Beyond.
They chose an international cast to create each Jerry. Alice Braga, Wes Studi, Richard Ayoade, Fortune Feimster, and Zenobia Shroff all lend their voices to The Great Before.
In a touch of irony, the basic shapes used to create the counselors weren’t so basic after all. “We thought, oh, these will be very simple because they’re just a line,” according to Doctor. “In typical computer form, you never know what you’re getting into. That was one of the more difficult characters, not only in the film but in our library of characters at Pixar, to make those things come to life.”
You can meet the Jerrys when Pixar’s Soul beings streaming this Christmas on Disney+.
About Soul
What is it that makes you…YOU? This Christmas only on Disney+, 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 Academy Award® winner Pete Docter (“Inside Out,” “Up”), co-directed by Kemp Powers (“One Night in Miami”) and produced by Academy Award nominee Dana Murray, p.g.a. (Pixar short “Lou”), Disney and Pixar’s “Soul” is streaming only on Disney+ beginning December 25.