Soul (2020).
Directed by Pete Docter
Written by Pete Docter, Mike Jones, and Kemp Powers
Starring Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, and Graham Norton
The Stage.
A jazz musician/music teacher who feels like he has accomplished nothing in life is on the brink of death - his soul must find its way back into his body with the help of an infant soul named 22 that’s learning about themself.
The Review.
There is a lot of good to talk about when it comes to Soul. For starters, the story is very engaging and pretty original, as I have come to expect from Pete Docter films. The animation is immaculate as we’ve all come to expect from Pixar. There are some geniune laughs to be had and the soundtrack (which is a mixture of jazz arrangements by Jon Batiste and an original score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) is absolutely brilliant.
Grab your tissues, this one may spark some feelings, especially as 2020 comes to a close. Releasing on Christmas was the perfect time to make us stop for a minute and be thankful that we’re alive, and that life isn’t about your accomplishments, it’s simply about living.
As someone probably viewed as ‘past his prime’, still working on artistic endeavors (this blog, my show, my screenplays), and really not feeling the way some people think that I should after hitting certain milestones, that part really hit home.
There are going to be spoilers in this section, so if you haven’t seen Soul, feel free to stop reading now. You’ve been warned.
I really enjoyed this film so there’s not much to talk about here but there are a few holes in the plot that have been bugging me. First off, the movie seemed to be angling towards Joe’s true spark being teaching others. It appeared that he was really good at being a mentor. Instead, it just kind of shirks that off to the side in favor of a more general ending.
There’s also this issue of the cat. That cat really got the short end of the stick. Look at this film from the cat’s point of view. One minute, it’s sitting comfortably on a hospital bed. The next, its soul is in purgatory, headed for the afterlife. At some point, Joe’s soul is out of the cat and gets back to his body. 22’s soul is out of Joe’s body and falls down to Earth to be born. And the cat…remains soulless. If anything, we could have had a scene in which Terry corrects the mistake to give him a bit of redemption, but it never happens. Or just ignore the cat on the belt scene (which did make me laugh) and add in a joke about cats not having souls.
Shout out to Ben, Monty, and my wife for helping me flesh those thoughts out.
The New York Knicks didn’t even play on Christmas and they still got dunked on.
The End.
Another solid outing from Pete Docter. He’s now made the two most mature Pixar films in Soul and Inside Out, and I cannot wait to see what he does next. Even if the story isn’t exactly perfect, this is highly recommended and the fact that it’s on Disney+ so that we can watch it safely inside of our homes is a bonus.
