For my second blog post, I want to look into the creation of the soundtrack for the Disney Pixar movie Soul and analyze how the score contributed to the overall tone and theme of the film. While there were many collaborators on the film’s complete score, three artists composed the majority of the soundtrack. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were the creators of the films soundtrack and well as the music that accompanied scenes in the Great Before, the place where souls are before beginning life. Jon Batiste created Jazz music for the scenes on earth, specifically in New York City. Batiste said he wanted to make jazz music feel accessible to all ages and that he also wanted his songs to blend with the rest of the films score. One of the reasons that the music in Soul feels so powerful and elicits emotions is because of the intentionality behind its creation. The jazz songs were created on an actual grand piano instead of creating the sounds using software. Having a jazz musician riffing on a piano and playing whatever comes to mind and feels right fits with the message that the movie is trying to deliver, overall impacting the effectiveness behind the soundtrack.
The music behind soul is what brought the film to life and helped to bring the movie’s themes of passion and purpose to fruition. The specific song from the film that I would like to highlight is the song that the main character Joe plays when he is in the “zone”. The zone is supposed to represent when a person is so lost and entranced in the moment when doing something they love that they stop paying attention to the world around them. Part of the reason that the soundtrack has such an impact on the film and is loved by audiences is the care and detail that went into the creation of each song. “Into the Zone” was composed by Jon Batiste and he said he was inspired by “ethereal nature” when composing songs for the film. Batiste drew inspiration from Jazz legends such as Charlie Parker, Harvey Mason, Roy Haynes, and Kenny Kirkland. The attention to detail with the creation of each song and the research and knowledge done by the artists involved to bring authenticity to the jazz music in the film is what made the score stand out and eventually become critically acclaimed.