Disney’s Pixar Is Bringing Pandemic-Period Films To The Big Screen

Images via Disney/Pixar [1], [2], [3]

Pixar’s animated hits Soul, Turning Red, and Luca, which originally premiered exclusively on Disney+ during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, are set to make their big-screen debut in 2024. This shift to theaters offers audiences the opportunity to immerse themselves in these stories as they were originally envisioned—on a grand cinematic scale.

The journey begins with Soul (2020), scheduled to hit theaters on January 12, 2024, followed by Turning Red (2022) on February 9, and Luca (2021) making a splash on March 22.

Enhancing these cinematic experiences, each feature film will be paired with a charming Pixar short: Soul with Burrow, Turning Red with Kitbull, and Luca with For the Birds.

Reflecting on the initial Disney+ releases, Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter acknowledges the pandemic’s influence on viewing habits, with families having adapted to streaming movies at home. The shift back is a “mixed blessing,” he tells Variety.

Docter stresses the benefits of theater experiences, particularly for visually rich films like Pixar’s Elemental, where details and emotions are amplified on the big screen, and you share them with a room filled with strangers.

This trio of theatrical releases serves as a precursor to the much-anticipated Inside Out 2, which is slated for a theater release on June 14.

[via Engadget, Deadline, Variety, images via various sources]