Prince Gets a Shout-Out in Pixar’s New ‘Soul’ Movie (Spoiler)
Prince gets a brief mention in the new Disney / Pixar movie Soul, with his name listed alongside a diverse group of legends including Albert Einstein, Aretha Franklin and Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Warning: This story contains Soul plot spoilers.)
Soul tells the story of Joe Gardner, a long-struggling middle school music teacher who dies just after landing his dream job in a jazz band. Transformed into a glowing blue soul headed for the "Great Beyond," Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) escapes by posing as a mentor, a being that helps prep unborn souls for life on Earth.
He is immediately assigned an impossible mission: mentoring "22," a soul who has successfully avoided being sent to Earth for thousands of years, frustrating an all-star lineup of mentors along the way.
At various points we see flashbacks of 22 (voiced by Tina Fey) frustrating would-be tutors like Mother Teresa, Carl Jung and Muhammad Ali. She also keeps a trophy wall filled with name tags from her vanquished mentors, and that's where "Prince Rogers Nelson" is seen, between Aretha Franklin and Johnny Cash.
Prince was briefly mentioned in the 2017 movie Justice League, appearing in a newspaper headline about "disappearing heroes" alongside David Bowie and Superman. His likeness or music has also made brief appearances in films such as The Breakfast Club, The Goonies and Pretty Woman.
Soul is available exclusively for streaming on Disney+.