I’ve always had a soft spot for animated movies and Disney, so you can only imagine how ecstatic I was to watch the movie “Soul.” Of all the Disney movies I’ve seen, this one was different in the ideas that it explored. I found myself questioning the meaning of life, purpose and accomplishments.
This movie details the life of Joe Gardner, a jazz pianist, who teaches band for middle school students. One of his biggest dreams is to be a performer and he desires to leave the teaching role. One day he gets the chance to perform with a famous group, but unfortunately, he falls through a hole in the ground leading to the “afterlife.” Fast forward some, and in order for Joe to get back to Earth, he has to find his “spark” and help someone else find theirs. That’s all I will say for now to avoid spoiling the whole movie.
I really enjoyed this movie. I thought the way they portrayed black culture in the film was nice and it even showed some real-life experiences. It is common to hear that the black community is underrepresented in animation, so I thought it was wonderful for filmmakers to use not only black stars for voices, but make the main character a black male. Certain cultural aspects in the movie like the scenes in the local barbershop and the tailor owned by Joe’s mother were just small things that added to the authenticity evidenced in many black communities. I’m not saying this portrayal was perfect, but I could tell effort was put into the film to highlight some black culture while also avoiding stereotypes.
One of the things I really admired about the movie was the application it had on my own life. The film put an emphasis on focusing on the small things around us and finding one’s purpose. I took away that life is not defined by our careers; instead, we should live life to the fullest every day and appreciate the small things around us. There are multiple paths to happiness. This does not have to be achieving your lifelong dream career. Rather, it can be something as simple as being good at a sport or cooking. In my own life, I understand the importance of enjoying all of life’s moments and while I desire to become a physician, that isn’t my only focus in life.
I recommend this movie to anyone looking for something to watch right now, even if you’re not a fan of the animated genre. There are multiple takeaways from this movie for all age groups, which makes it a must-see. One of those takeaways is that we don’t need to have a set purpose to be on Earth. We just need to be grateful for the life we have and live it to our fullest potential.