Carnival of Soul

Pixar has given a sneak peak into its upcoming animated feature Soul, which follows a musician voiced by Jamie Foxx. The movie is all about “the artist’s journey,” Pixar writer Kemp Powers told EW, and how obsessively chasing success in the creative arts is “detrimental to the rest of your life.”

Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios announced Soul in June, saying it will “take you on a journey from the streets of New York City to the cosmic realms to discover the answers to life’s most important questions.” It hits theaters on June 19.

Foxx’s character, Joe Gardner, is a middle school teacher moonlighting as a jazz musician in New York City, EW reported Wednesday. 

Soul, which is being directed by Pixar head Pete Docter, sees Joe finally get his dream job — but then die in an accident, EW said. His soul then works at a place called You Seminar, where he helps make and give personalties to other souls before they’re sent to join human bodies, according to the report. He then meets a soul named 22 — voiced by Tina Fey — who hates humans and wants to avoid going to Earth.

“We went in a completely different direction than any of the other films that Pete’s done,” Powers told EW. “It’s hard to contain our enthusiasm over how much people are going to be surprised by what they see.”

Fey also helped write the script, according to the report, which sees Joe and 22 try to get his soul back to his body.

Docter told EW that the writers spoke to “a lot of folks that represented religious traditions and cultural traditions” about what they think a soul is. “We’re used to toys, cars, things that are much more substantial and easily referenced. This was a huge challenge.”

The movie will also star the voices of Daveed Diggs, Questlove and Phylicia Rashad, and feature music by Jon Batiste and an original score from Oscar winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Before Soul hits the big screen, Pixar’s Onward, which dropped an expansive trailer last month, will see two brothers voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt working to restore their father for 24 hours using a wizard’s staff. It comes out on March 6.

Disney’s Pixar didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but retweeted EW’s story Wednesday.