‘Soul’ vs. ‘Onward’: Who’s Top Dog For the Oscars Contention?

In this year’s Oscar race, Pixar has not one but two horses chasing the top honors in the Animated Feature category – Onward and Soul.

To say Pixar dominates in this category would be an understatement. Whenever the studio has an entry on the ballot, it’s hard not to make them the favorite. With two candidates, it makes a win nearly inevitable.

But which of the two has a leg up on the other?

In this head-to-head, Soul has a decisive edge over Onward. Kemp Powers, one of Soul’s screenwriters, remarked about his initial reaction to Soul’s premise on a recent episode of Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, ‘We’re going to do a kid’s movie about a middle-aged jazz musician?’ As much as he makes you laugh, he hits the nail spot on the head. Soul is an atypical story for an animated feature.

Not to mention ambitious. In just under two hours, Soul takes us on a fantastic journey confronting a lot of weighty and, at times, uncomfortable subjects. But the writers never let the story sag or buckle under those subjects.

Not to say Onward didn’t take on heavy-hitting subject matter. Dealing with the loss of a parent is absolutely a big undertaking. Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, and Julia Louise Dreyfuss created a dynamic family to go on an emotional rollercoaster and quasi-traditional adventure. That said, Onward didn’t end up breaking any new ground.

Soul’s approach and final product were on a whole other level. A struggling jazz musician and a reluctant soul came into our living rooms. They showed us it’s alright to believe in a seemingly unreachable dream and at the same time be afraid to succeed.

Is Soul going to take the big prize this year, though?

Probably.

I have yet to get to Wolfwalkers or Over the Moon, but if past years have taught us anything, Pixar is always the front runner.