In terms of sheer consistency, Pixar might very well be the most critically acclaimed studio in the history of cinema. The animation powerhouse have delivered 23 movies over the last quarter of a century, only one of which has failed to secure a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, if you eliminate the Cars trilogy entirely, then every single one of their features has scored at least 75%.
Not only that, but sixteen of them are rated at 90% or above, and the Disney subsidiary have won ten of the thirteen Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature they’ve been nominated for. That’s a track record of success that any other company in Hollywood would kill for, and the hot streak looks to continue with upcoming Disney Plus exclusive Soul, which stars Jamie Foxx and will be available for free and not locked behind the Premier Access paywall like Mulan was.
The plot follows a music teacher who finally seizes his chance to become a performing musician after spending a lifetime putting his dreams on the back burner, before an accident separates his soul from his body, leading to a trip into another dimension where he’s forced to work with other unique personalities in order to make it back to his own world before his body dies.
That’s pretty heady stuff from what’s essentially been marketed as a family film, but with Pixar veteran and Up and Inside Out director Pete Docter at the helm, it isn’t surprising to discover that reviews for the existential and emotional Soul have been positively glowing. The studio’s latest currently boasts a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 99%, and after initially being scheduled for a theatrical release in June before being delayed to October, the movie will now hit Disney Plus on Christmas Day.