Something is different about Pixar's latest feature film, Soul. It isn't the subject matter. Disney+'s Christmas Day release, like many Pixar titles, tackles deep, existential themes. It isn't the animation. Soul is as whimsical-looking and technically impressive as any of the studio's films. It certainly isn't the quality. The film meets the studio's noted high standards. No, the missing link is something you may not have noticed: the voice of actor John Ratzenberger, who has been featured in every Pixar movie until now, is not heard in Soul.
Ratzenberger, who is best known for playing Cliff on the sitcom Cheers, was part of the very first Pixar feature, 1995's Toy Story, where he played the piggy bank, Hamm. He then went on to voice P.T. Flea in A Bug's Life, followed by Yeti in Monsters, Inc. These were relatively small roles, but the movies themselves were big hits. As a result, the studio began to consider Ratzenberger something of a good luck charm, and found a place for him in each of their subsequent projects.
Over the years, he's played ensemble characters like Hamm and Mack, the truck from Cars, but his appearances were usually more of a cameo. He's played a construction worker three times: in Up, Inside Out and Onward. He's played a school of fish in Finding Nemo and a hermit crab in Finding Dory. Ratzenberger usually doesn't try to disguise his warm but grizzly voice too much, which has turned identifying the role he's voicing into something of an Easter egg hunt for Pixar fans. But he's nowhere to be found on the cast list of Soul, and neither the actor nor the filmmakers have explained the reason.
It's ironic -- and for the superstitious, maybe even a little creepy -- that the first Pixar movie without Ratzenberger behind the microphone ran up against the monumental obstacles of 2020. Soul was expected to be a summer blockbuster but, instead, after several delays, has become Pixar's first major film to go straight to streaming.
Nonetheless, it's likely to be a long, difficult winter, and the ultimately uplifting Soul will no doubt find an appreciative audience n Disney+, especially since many movie theaters remain shuttered and families are still stuck at home hungering for quality content. Besides, there could be a simple explanation for Ratzenberger's absence such as scheduling complications or the actor's advancing age, so there's no reason to think he won't be back in Pixar's next film.
Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, Soul stars Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs and Angela Bassett. The film is available on Disney+.