Film Review: SOUL

WDCB’s Gary Zidek reviews the new animated film, SOUL.

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WDCB's Gary Zidek reviews the new animated film, SOUL.

A jazz musician hoping for a big break, seemingly loses his life, but gains a greater appreciation for everything in it, in the new film SOUL. The animated movie is the latest from Disney and Pixar. It’s been released exclusively on the Disney Plus streaming platform because many theaters around the country are still closed due to the pandemic. The film, like many recent Pixar releases, is incredibly ambitious in its attempts to take on some complex themes and ideas. Many of today’s most successful animated releases are able to walk that fine line of engaging kids, while also entertaining adults. Pixar has shined in this area, presenting features that mix different levels of humor with accessible messages meant to be thought-provoking. SOUL may have bitten a little more off than it can chew attempting to dive into questions involving the afterlife, our true purpose and what it means to be alive?

Jamie Foxx voices the main character, Joe Gardinare, a New York city middle school music teacher that longs to be a professional jazz pianist. Early in the film, we find out that he’s just been offered a full-time role at the middle school he works at, but his response to the opportunity is less than enthusiastic. Soon, Joe gets the chance he’s been hoping for, when a former student, who is now a very successful professional jazz musician, calls him with an offer to audition for the (fictional) legendary saxophonist Dorthea Williams (voiced by Angela Basset).

Joe nails the audition, and is so overjoyed that he falls into an open manhole in the middle of the street. It’s implied that he dies, though we don’t spend much time on the details of his fall (because this is an animated movie aimed at kids). The next thing we see is a smaller blue blob-version of Joe headed on a conveyer belt to a brightlight we’re to assume is the “great beyond”. Joe is not thrilled with this development, especially when he was so close to his big moment. He escapes the conveyer belt and ends up in different realm known as the Great Before, this is where souls are trained before entering human bodies on Earth. These pre-Earth souls are bouncy blue spheres filled with innocence and wonder. They are mentored and trained to find their spark before heading to Earth. Joe is mistaken for a mentor and is charged with helping a soul named 22 find her spark.  Twenty-two, who is voiced by Tina Fey, has been avoiding finding her spark because she’s content to exist in the Great Before. The plot details get a little confusing here, but Joe believes if he helps 22 find her spark, she will give him her earth pass and he can re-enter his body and make his gig later that night.

SOUL was co-written and directed by Pete Docter, who also created UP! and INSIDE OUT. Viewers will likely recognize some parallels between SOUL and those two films, Docter revisits some of the ideas that he explored in those previous works. There’s a strong existential thread dealing with what makes us the way we are. The visuals are phenomenal. That’s to be expected when Disney and Pixar are involved, but let’s not take it for granted. What might surprise some viewers is that the original score was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch. However the jazz pieces featured in SOUL were crafted by acclaimed pianist Jon Batiste.

SOUL is a visually stunning movie that should be commended for its ambitious approach to tackling more thought-provoking themes. The execution is a little off and the ending comes off a bit abrupt. But I still recommend SOUL with the 3.5 out of 4 stars. It’s currently streaming on Disney Plus.