Pixar’s Soul is a wonderful, introspective movie that follows the trend of Pixar movies dealing with deeper themes such as Inside Out (depression) and Coco (death). It takes you on a journey that makes you consider what you are doing in your own life.
The story follows Joe Gardner, a Jazz musician and school teacher that is finally going to get his big break playing with the Dorothea Williams band. However, he runs into an accident and his body is separated from his soul. He has to figure out how to get back to his body and learns about himself in the process.
If you were hesitant to watch this film because of the trailers, I would ignore them and still watch the movie. The trailers don’t reveal much and the movie has far more depth than it appears to. I was also worried Soul would follow the disturbing Disney trend of turning people of color into non-human entities for the majority of their movies (See The Princess and the Frog, Brother Bear, and The Emperor’s New Groove for examples of this trend) and I am happy to support that this is not the case with Soul.
The animation in Soul is absolutely stunning from the first minute. The background is photo-realistic and the details are jaw-dropping. It is incredible to see how much technology has progressed and also how hard the animators have worked to bring the world to life. When looking at the credits I saw that there was a whole section of animators just devoted to animating the sweaters in the movie.
The movie also features a lot of jazz music which adds to the story. The score of the movie also has an interesting connection here at the University of Utah. Visiting Director of Jazz Studies at the university, John Petrucelli, received a request from Pixar to write some songs for the film. They had to have the songs ready in 5 days to be ready before the film came out. Current and former students of Petrucelli came together to score key moments of the film before the release. It’s neat to learn that our local community had a part in shaping this movie!
The introspective nature of the movie is incredibly heartwarming. It makes you appreciate life and all of its simple pleasures. Joe and 22’s journey of self-discovery is something that all generations can appreciate. Since we were children we are always looking for a purpose in our lives; whether it’s a child who wants to be a doctor, a girl who’s passionate about baseball, or someone like Joe Gardner whose whole world revolves around jazz music. Soul tells us we don’t have to have a purpose, we can just live and enjoy living – life is more than just having a singular purpose or passion. I think it’s a message that we all need today, especially in COVID-times when we’re not able to accomplish as much as we normally could. We should take joy in the simple things.
Soul is a cute story with a comforting message that you will be sure to enjoy and appreciate! You can watch it for free with your Disney+ subscription.