Pixar's Soul, which begins streaming exclusively on Disney+ December 25, is both a mystical adventure and a very grounded tale about humanity. The highly-anticipated animated film follows aspiring jazz musician and music teacher Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) from his hurdles and opportunities on Earth to an extraterrestrial plane known as the Great Before.
But before he mentors wayward souls in the Great Before, he must first face a well-meaning dressing-down by his mother Libba. Played by Phylicia Rashad, Libba is concerned that her son is trading a stable income for a life as a struggling artist where nothing is guaranteed. While Rashad is a veteran of the screen and stage, Soul marked her first voiceover role, and she was eager to tackle it.
The acclaimed actress spoke to Screen Rant about how her acting experience shaped her first recording sessions, why Joe and Libba's relationship is so complex, and what personal memories the film takes her back to.
I read that this was your first major animated voiceover role. What was it that drew you to that side of acting, and how different was it for you to experience?
Phylicia Rashad: Well, I've wanted to work in an animated feature for quite some time. A long time. "Is it ever going to happen? And how is that going to happen?" And it has, and that was very good.
Insofar as this form of acting, as you train as an actor, you train your entire instrument. You train your voice. On stage, more so in my experience than in film and television, I get to use the instrument more fully. So, that's something that I'm accustomed to do.
Libba and Joe have such a complicated but loving dynamic. Could you talk a little bit about why they're at odds at the start of the film, and how their relationship might evolve over the course of it?
Phylicia Rashad: Oh, sure. Libba is Joe's mother. And, like most mothers, she wants what she considers is the very best for him. She wants the best of everything for him, and she wants his life to go a certain way. She's entering a time in her life where - even though it isn't said, but it is kind of referred to - where she's looking and saying, "I won't be here always, and I'd like to know that you're set and secure. And that's what I need to know. Don't go to the left, go to the right. Go take this job over here, because this is what you need for security, so you can pay your bills and be substantial and have a good life."
And what she doesn't see is that what she thinks he needs isn't what he needs at all.
There's so many different themes speaking to both younger generations and to older ones. What was it that really spoke to you about Soul?
Phylicia Rashad: There were a couple of things. First of all, my older brother is a musician, and he demonstrated his talents at a very young age. When he was presented with his trumpet, without a lesson, he picked it up and began to play and he played "Taps." He hadn't had one lesson. And at the age of 11, he conducted the Houston Symphony Orchestra, playing John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever." I remember these things.
I remember how artistic he was always. I remember that about him. And I also remember that people weren't always understanding what that was for him. Being well,-meaning, of course - they always meant well - they would try to encourage him to get a job. Just like they would do my mother, who was a poet. As if that is not work. I mean, people do this to this day. They tell you, even in some academic institutions when it comes to fine arts, "There's no intelligence attributed to it. No discipline, no hard work. No real intention, no clear direction. That's just entertainment."
It was these kinds of [themes]. I could go on about this, but that's really what attracted me.
