Pixar’s Christmas gift to the world came in the form of their highly anticipated latest output “Soul.” As one would expect from Pete Doctor, the director of “Inside Out”, “Soul” can be quite sad but it reaches true insight along the way.
A warning for those who want to go in blind, there are minor spoilers ahead.
The film stars the voice of Jamie Foxx as the voice of Joe Gardner, a middle school band teacher with dreams of playing jazz professionally. But when Joe finally gets his big break playing drums for jazz legend Dorotha Williams (the voice of the incomparable Angela Bassett), he dies and goes to the “Great Beyond”.
The story becomes about Joe Gardner trying to reclaim his life on Earth and rediscovering his passion for life. But to do it, he must work with 22, a yet unborn soul (the voice of Tina Fey), who has resisted going to Earth for centuries
In many ways, the relationship of Joe and 22 is a classic buddy comedy, m just one centered around a existential identity crisis. Pixar movies have been about identity crises since the very first one, but “Soul” is different than “Toy Story” or any of the ones that came before it.
As you might expect from a movie that kills the main character in the trailer, this movie is more mature and somber than Pixar’s past. For much of its runtime it manages to strike a perfect tone of existentialism with light humor (Fey’s character delivers a perfect Knicks joke early.)
Given that this is a film about a jazz musician, the music is important. Luckily, it confidently steps into the world. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross creates an eerie new world in the Great Beyond and the jazz compositions by John Batiste help put excitement into an existing one in New York.
“Soul”, however, is also a movie constantly straddling the line between being a serious adult movie and one that the whole family can enjoy. And it does not do that perfectly. At times, the movie seems to come to a halt as it tries to put a midlife crisis into terms a child can understand.
Even worse are moments when “Soul” sets up big questions about life and its meanings only to ignore them later. These moments are frustrating, but they are not irredeemable. The emotional catharsis of its ending and of Joe’s many life revelations along the way make up for its few empty moments.
“Soul” is a must-watch film for anyone struggling to find where they fit in the world.
“Soul” is now available to stream on Disney+.
