Pixar finds it’s magic again with latest release Soul. Released exclusively to Disney+ in the West the film follows middle school teacher Joe Gardner who aspires to be a professional jazz musician. Upon meeting lifeless soul 22, Joe learns that personal dreams & desires are only part of what makes us alive.

Soul is a 2020 CG animated comedy film, it is produced by Pixar Animation Studios & Walt Disney Pictures, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios. It is available exclusively on Disney+.

Editor’s Note: Near complete to complete spoilers for Soul may be pesentt within this review.

Prior to the fallout with the pandemic Soul was cited as one of the films to watch out for. It’s colorful, eye-catching animation and direction quickly attracted would-be moviegoers who were looking forward to having a theatrical experience with the film. Unfortunately as the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic continued to worsen Soul ended up being one of the many theater release causalities. As WB Pictures announced it’s entire 2021 slate for streaming service HBO Max, Disney may soon be forced to follow suit with Soul being the first film to quickly skip their previous “Premium Access” attempt. Released on Christmas day for the West, those interested in the film are now able to view a film that gives a beautiful take on human existence Disney+ and all you need is your current subscription.

THE GOOD: In Soul, Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher that’s always in search of his big break. And apparently he’s been at it for awhile as he meets one of his students he taught as a child, (now an adult) named Curley who’s apart of a performing jazz band. Lacking inspiration from his teaching job Joe takes up his former student’s offer to potentially play for the band if he can impress its lead; a saxophonist named Dorothea Williams. Joe’s mother Libba is against Joe chasing his dreams as he now has a stable career as a music teacher. This is mainly due to the fact that Joe’s father (according to Libba), died chasing after the same dream. As Joe celebrates the opportunity at a gig, he suddenly dies after falling through an open manhole. He soon awakes in the “Great Beyond” (stairway to heaven) and attempts to escape, but his efforts land him in the “Great Before” (pre-existence). Here he finds soul counselors who help guide unborn souls to their destined ways of life. Mistaking him as another soul, they have Joe act as a teacher for misguided souls assigning him the literal life challenging 22. 22 is a smart-mouthed know-it-all who always has some kind of sassy comment when it relates to life. 22’s cynicism isn’t exactly her fault, the teachers hired by the soul counselors have been trying to get her ready for birth for millennia, but she always failed to receive her last soul badge. Six soul badges are required for a soul to enter Earth to be born as a human. 

22’s missing badge was for “passion” lacking inspiration for something she loves similarly to Joe. As Joe tries to teach her about human culture 22 continues to refute him until she gains a sudden interest in Joe’s own life. After sharing his memories of what makes him feel alive (or so he thought) in the “Zone”, they meet Moonwind; a sign twirler who can enter the Zone at will and attempts to rescue Lost Souls (soul who become consumed by their passions). Moonwind helps guide Joe’s soul back to Earth having earlier been promised 22’s badge. As Joe returns to his body a mishap ends up having him accidentally possessing a cat with 22 possessing his body. While masquerading as Joe, 22 explores his neighborhood with Joe guiding her. She becomes interested in human life for the first time when one of Joe’s promising students gets inspired to continue his class after considering quitting. 22 begins to slowly appreciate the different aspects of human live now having been able to experience them fully. Moonwind offers to help guide Joe’s soul back to his body, but 22 now obsessed with further exploration of humanity refuses and runs off. Gary from the Great Beyond captures Joe and 22’s souls and return them to the Great Before. After an argument 22 leaves and becomes a lost soul. Joe returns to Earth and is able to successfully perform but still feels unfulfilled. He recalls his time with 22 and her joy from her first experiences as human and goes off to find her. After encountering the lost soul 22 Joe tells her that she’s more than good enough to be human and she returns to her former self and decides to live. Joe is given a second chance at life for his work and vows to live life to the fullest. 

While satirical Soul gives a very serious look at what the “meaning of life” is and it ultimately tells us that; the meaning of life, is basically what we make of it more often that not. Sure there are things that go beyond our control, but we do have the power to choose our destinies to a degree we just need to keep on moving forward until we reach the destination we want to get to. It’s a nice, much needed feel good message especially after that abysmal year most of if not all of the world was forced to deal with in 2020. And honestly a week in and 2021 isn’t all that off to a great start either. This message doesn’t really come until around the latter half of the film so it doesn’t get to the point of feeling preachy. Soul is described as a comedy, but there weren’t many jokes in the film which I thought was the right move for its direction. It keeps it from feeling too kiddish and low-brow. While it’s not exactly adult inherently, there is a certain level of maturity with Soul that gives it a proper “all ages” aesthetic. The characters all have fun, explosive personalities that are perfectly executed by the voice cast. It’s an incredibly fast-paced film and it’s over before you know it, but it’s easy enough to follow that you never seem too bottled down with information to keep. Every purpose and character direction just about is summed up purposely, though there are a couple of blunders that I go into details about below.

THE BAD: Honestly throughout my viewing of Soul I can’t say there was much I didn’t like about the film, but there were a couple. My main grip is that it seems as though the film may have gone through a couple of re-writes throughout it’s development and it becomes a bit obvious during it’s run. Allow me to explain there’s a character named Paul who’s introduced during the barbershop scene. Paul is described as being Joe’s rival, but they only use him for about a maximum of three scenes. 22 even unintentionally insults Paul by stating that he insults Joe because he’s jealous and it hits him deep. I really think Paul originally had a much bigger role in he film, but his story eventually carried over to 22’s. Her turning into a lost soul & Paul’s short interaction with Gary also hints at this possible original story plan. For whatever reason instead of cutting Paul completely they kept him in the film leaving some slight confusion in the process.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Soul is a beautifully animated film that brings Pixar back to form not felt since the release of it’s earlier films. Sequels are nice and all, but Soul proves that it doesn’t hurt to experiment more with original projects even if they end up being one offs. The film does have small story issues that may confuse those that pay too close attention, but it’s a complete film well worth a Disney+ sub if even for a month or so. Otaku Dome gives Soul a 95 out of 100.