‘Soul’ Wins Two Golden Globes, Including Best Animated Feature

No big animation-related surprises at last night’s Golden Globes, where Soul was named best animated feature. The win marked Pixar’s eighth victory in the category’s 15-year history, and its first since Coco three years ago. The Walt Disney Company has won 11 out of the 15 awards.

Soul beat four titles: Onward (from Pixar), Over the Moon (Netflix and Pearl Studio), The Croods: A New Age (Dreamworks Animation), and Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon). The last film in particular, an Apple TV+ original, has been gathering buzz through stellar reviews and several critics’ awards. But it proved unable to stage an upset at the Globes as Laika’s Missing Link did last year.

Directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers, Soul launched on Disney+ on Christmas Day to strong reviews. Powers is the second Black director to win in this category, after Peter Ramsey for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse two years ago. Accepting the award, Powers said: “Being able to tell a universal tale that explored the meaning of life through the prism of a Black man’s experience was a special honor, and though the details are specific, I really do believe our story is universal.”

Soul also picked up an award for best original score, which was shared by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste.

The 78th Golden Globe Awards were presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that has hosted the ceremony since its inception.