Here's a list of the best Black horror movies, including classics like 'Night of the Living Dead' and haunting vampire flicks, spanning from the 1970s to 2019. "I don't want to speak for anyone else, but there might've been some fear. Again. But the studio is changing that. Powers, who also scripted Regina King's One Night in Miami, boarded the project in the early stages and found he shared quite a few similarities with Joe: They were both in their 40s, both from New York city. With that, Soul became the first-ever Pixar film with a Black lead: Joe Gardner, an aspiring jazz pianist getting by as a middle-school band teacher. Diahann Carroll in 1972. Meanwhile, Powers' impact extended so far beyond simply fleshing out Joe that he was made Soul's co-director. He's always got, like, 15 projects going [and] so much energy. ", There was one problem: "Jamie is really, really cool," co-director Kemp Powers explains. That's a noble profession. But when one resourceful girl, Tip, (Rihanna) manages to avoid capture, she finds herself the accidental accomplice of a banished Boov by the name of Oh (Jim Parsons). Aside from their animation and art prowess, the studio's 2018 Oscar-winning short, "Bao," explored empty nest syndrome within a Chinese-Canadian family. Let that sink in. Soul debuts exclusively on Disney+ on Dec. 25. How can we not make him Black?'". That's not to say Pixar hasn't been pushing boundaries in other ways, though. Meanwhile, characters Pixar featured before a black person: a French rat that cooks, literal talking monsters, ants and a toy cowboy. I think Joe is a little bit more complex than a lot of our protagonists. Pixar's 'Soul' Will Premiere on Disney Plus This Christmas, Tina Fey Says Pixar's 'Soul' 'Asks Big Questions' (Exclusive), Every Movie in Theaters, On Demand and Streaming This Fall, By signing up, you agree to our "Sanjay's Super Team," another short, delved into the experiences of a first-generation Indian-American boy and his passions — which conflict with his father's traditions. funny how disney and pixar movies with a black protagonist (the princess and the frog and now “soul”) have them dehumanized through a good part of the movie. With that, Soul became the first-ever Pixar film with a Black lead: Joe Gardner, an aspiring jazz pianist getting by as a middle-school band teacher. The team behind Soul didn't set out make Pixar history. "Similarly, there were a lot of ideas in 22" -- a precocious soul voiced by Tina Fey -- "and in the soul world that were [mine]. The studio released the trailer for "Soul" on Thursday. When you hear "Black scary movies," you most likely think of Get Out, Jordan Peele's 2017 film that won an Oscar for best screenplay. Joe Biden Vows to Unite Country After Presidential Win: Full Speech, Kelly Clarkson Responds to Father-in-Law's Company Lawsuit Against Her, Kamala Harris Delivers Inspiring Message of Hope: Her Full Speech, Chrissy & John Celebrate Joe Biden Win Driving Through West Hollywood. So, as the Soul team got to know Foxx in the recording booth, they tweaked Joe accordingly. Inside Out director Pete Docter began toying with the idea of an afterlife heist movie -- about two souls attempting to sneak off to Earth -- though it soon evolved into something far more existential: The story of a man whose life on Earth is cut short, so when he inadvertently lands in The Great Before, he sets out in search of a second chance at living his life to the fullest. Like, we don't want to mess this up," he reflects. But I can't emphasize enough how this was a group lift. It was recently announced that Lupita Nyong'o will be starring in the adaptation of the best-selling book Americanah (2021). "Plus, boy, you talk about a guy who won't stop. "Once we knew he was a jazz musician," Docter tells ET, "we felt like, 'Jazz grew out of Black culture. Home will be the first 3D animation to have a black girl as the hero, it is also Dreamworks’ third female protagonist, the others being Monsters vs Aliens and The Croods. This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors. Rihanna will voice the character of Tip, a ‘resourceful girl’ who teams up with a banished alien called Oh when Earth taken over by an alien race, according to the synopsis. The synopsis reads: ‘When Earth is taken over by the overly-confident Boov, an alien race in search of a new place to call home, all humans are promptly relocated, while the Boov get busy efficiently reorganising the planet. But I was also really clear from the beginning that I'm one guy from New York who happens to be Black. Good thing they have a flying car.’. And in addition to this being another film grappling with death and our collective mortality ("Coco," anyone? Updated 0303 GMT (1103 HKT) November 9, 2019. ® & © 2020 CBS Studios Inc. © 2020 CBS Television Distribution and CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. While black women have made great strides over the years in the film industry, solo (not on equal footing in the lead with a man or a woman of another ethnicity) lead roles for them are still few and far between. "And Joe is not." "There were elements of Jamie's natural personality that just worked their way in. 'Young Sheldon' Reveals the Name of Sheldon and Amy's Baby Boy! After Gardner falls into a manhole, he ends up in a mystical place — and he's just a soul. Dreamworks' forthcoming movie Home will be the first 3D animated film to have a black lead character.