Melba and Lulu are characters featured in the 2020 Disney/Pixar animated feature film Soul. They serve as workers for Libba Gardner who work at her tailor shop in New York City.
Background[]
Melba and Lulu are two female employees who work for Libba's Custom Tailoring. They are often seen as fellow employees working with Libba Gardner, Joe's mother, who serves as the owner of her shop.
Role in the film[]
Melba and Lulu are first seen working at Libba's tailor shop where they are seen looking at a hole on a pair of pants where they decide to fix the pants with a torn hole in it while Joe Gardner plans to accept his job in being a full-time teacher at middle school while talking to his mother Libba, to which Joe then privately talks with Curley while Melba and Lulu continue working in Libba's tailor shop.
They later appear again when Joe, who has Mr. Mittens on his shoulder, approaches them at Libba's Custom Tailoring who are excited that they heard the news about Joe's purpose which the soul version of Joe who is inside Mr. Mittens' body tells a pragmatic 22 who is controlling the real Joe himself to get ready for the concert so that Joe himself can approach his mother to get his suit fixed for the concert. Soon as the real Joe attempts to approach his mother, Melba asks Joe to know if he forgot something (meaning a kiss on the cheek), which as Joe approaches the two, he suddenly kisses Melba on the lips, much to her surprise, which leads Lulu to ask him to know what has gotten into him, while a delighted Melba tells her to let him finish, just as Joe meets mis mother working on a dress while Melba and Lulu hear the conversation about Joe's desire to join Dorothea's band. They later get Joe's suit ready for his performance with Dorothea's band at the Half Note Club along with Melba, Joe's mother who helps her son get ready for the performance.
Later that night at the Half Note Club, Melba and Lulu watch Joe performing with the Dorothea Williams Quartet band just as they cheer for the band's performance while Libba praises her son for wonderful performance at the Club. After performing, Libba praises her son for a fascinating performance with Dorothea just before she leaves with Melba and Lulu who board a taxi nearby. They do not appear again afterwards.
Trivia[]
- Melba and Lulu's voice actresses, Margo Hall and Rhodessa Jones, are local theatre actresses who work for theatre productions performed in New York, which Soul coincidentally takes place.
