PIXAR has long excelled at making movies that appeal to all ages, be it wide-eyed kids looking for funny characters and outlandish settings, or cynical adults who want to have their minds blown and emotions wrecked.
In this regard – and many others – ‘Soul’ is a triumph, recalling the creative summits this animation studio has climbed over the past couple decades. It has a spiritual aspect that recalls ‘Inside Out’ (also directed by Pete Docter), an examination of a life’s work from ‘Ratatouille’ and the humanism of ‘Coco’.
Our hero here is Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a middle-aged public school jazz teacher who still chases after that elusive life-changing performance – much to the consternation of his mother – and surprisingly lands his dream gig, only to die in an accident.
All this happens in the first ten or so minutes before we dive into the heart of the movie, which concerns the plane of existence beyond the physical, because this movie is very literally about the journey of the soul.
In a departure from the heightened (and beautiful) reality of the New York City where the Earthbound section takes place, the spiritual dimension is much more abstract and bold. The movie becomes frankly metaphysical in a way that is easy for anyone to understand.
Concepts such as the afterlife, the creation of souls, how personalities come to be, are thrown about in rapid succession, in often funny and inventive ways.
Here, raw souls are beings of pure innocence that are imprinted seemingly at random with a series of traits before entering the physical world.
Joe is single-handedly focused on returning back to the land of the living in time for his gig and to do so he has to mentor an erstwhile undefined soul, 22 (Tina Fey), who has so far resisted any attempts at being sent to Earth.
Despite being previously tutored by the likes of Mother Theresa, Carl Jung, Muhammad Ali and Archimedes, she has no interest in living.
This is the central tension of the movie, with one man wanting to live so he can fulfill his supposed dream and another being seemingly unconcerned with what life has to offer.
However, in Pixar fashion it’s not that simple and there is a lot of discussion on what it means to appreciate life and what makes life worth living. It is bracingly sincere and isn’t afraid of pulling on the heartstrings.
Of course, ‘Soul’ isn’t a philosophical text, it’s a really fun and funny movie filled with jokes and sequences that ought to entertain any child or the child at heart.
‘Soul’s’ depiction of jazz and the pleasure of being one with one’s art is very similar to ‘Ratatouille’s’ handling of food and cooking, where sound and image explain to us how something feels in ways that words cannot.
In that sense, while it has become all too easy to take Pixar’s incredible visuals for granted, there are a number of sequences and images that are jaw dropping to behold. It’s also a love letter to jazz and has a score to back that up.
Maybe Soul’s message is ultimately pat and in keeping with the Disney way, but it’s so heartfelt and beautifully told it almost doesn’t matter. – The Vibes, December 28, 2020
