They thought the choice was a bit soulless.
Disney Pixar’s latest film “Soul” has received a fierce response online, with viewers finding the role of Tina Fey in the film “racially insensitive.” The criticism comes amid a wave of rave reviews praising the Disney + release’s music, animation, and portrayal of black culture.
The groundbreaking animated film, which stars the studio’s first African-American protagonist, follows high school jazz teacher Joe Gardner (played by Jamie Foxx) who, due to his untimely death, makes a posthumous pilgrimage to recover his lost soul.
Along the way, Joe helps a disillusioned ghost named 22 (played by Tina Fey) rediscover her reason for living – while gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to live.
Needless to say, Fey’s casting came under fire from the ever-candid Twitterati, who felt the pivotal role should have gone to a black actor or actress.
“Yeah, casting Tina Fey as 22 in Soul didn’t do it for me, 22 should have been voiced by a black guy instead,” scoffed a social media watchdog.
Another wrote“I think they should have asked Regina King or Tiffany Haddish to pronounce Tina Fey’s character instead.”
Some viewers were especially divided over the lengthy part of the film where Fey’s voice commands Joe Gardner’s body a la ‘Freaky Friday’.
“The studio’s first Black Protagonist needed the soul of a middle-aged white woman to get his life on track”, snapped a critic of the cinematic white saviorism. Thank you for taking ‘racist images’ into account. Wheww … “
Another complained, “The inclusion of Tina Fey for the body changes and not a predominantly black comedian feels a lot like someone said,” We don’t want to alienate our white audience “… … and I’m even more disappointed with the movie about this.
“Soul” isn’t the only project accused of inappropriate casting lately. Wonder Woman 1984 star Gal Gadot was torn over her portrayal of Cleopatra, with critics saying that an Arab or African actress should play the iconic Egyptian leader instead of the 35-year-old Israeli actress.
Gadot was quick to shut down opponents. “First of all, if you want to be true to the facts, Cleopatra was Macedonian,” she told BBC Arabic. “We were looking for a Macedonian actress who would match Cleopatra. She wasn’t there. And I was very passionate about Cleopatra. “