This animated film from Pixar Studios premieres December 25th on Disney+.
For decades now, family-friendly animation studio Pixar have been creating fantastic new worlds. Soul is the latest effort from the studio, a movie that takes viewers all the way from a jazz club in New York to a spiritual realm known as the Great Beyond. The story and plotting harken back to other features from the studio and as a result this newest effort doesn’t always feel as fresh as some of Pixar’s classics. However, like everything else from the production company, it is a beautifully animated and entertaining film that will have no difficulties engaging the entire family.
Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) is a middle-aged music teacher who still dreams of playing jazz professionally. He gets his opportunity when an ex-student named Curly (Questlove) tells him that famous performer Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) needs a new backup band member. But after a successful audition, an accident occurs. Gardner awakens as a spirit in the Great Beyond heading towards a bright light. Naturally, this unexpected development doesn’t suit the lead, who is desperate to return home and perform. In order to do so, he sneaks off into the Great Before, a place filled with souls readying to head to Earth. Once there, Gardner befriends 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who doesn’t have any interest in occupying a human body. The protagonist decides to assist her in gaining a pass to Earth so that he may use it to get back home to the world of the living.
As expected, the visuals are outstanding, from the New York City environments to the heavenly world above. In fact, some elements of the busy downtown streets, including the passing vehicles, are more photo-realistic than ever. The movie also offers some great imagery in the Great Beyond. In particular, an area home to lost spirits, where the leads meet a “mystic without borders” expert named Moonbean (Graham Norton) offering advice into getting the lead’s untethered soul back to Earth. The character travels on an enormous glowing ship that sails through waves of sand – these images are some of the film’s most distinctive.
The story itself is very cute, if not outright hilarious. Admittedly, as incredible and striking as several of the environments presented might be, early jokes generate little more than a chuckle or two. And as impressive as it looks, the plains of the Great Beyond and the character designs will remind viewers of other Pixar features (in particular, Inside Out). There’s also a lot of jumping around story-wise. The plot spends a lot of time setting up how the Great Beyond works, but then switches its focus to the characters back in New York (even if the protagonists don’t return in the way they intended). From this point forward, the movie earnestly follows Gardner trying to justify his life goals, while 22 discovers the small wonders of life as she tries to find her purpose. It’s all amusing but hardly subtle.
So, not all the gags result in laughs, the message feels a bit on-the-nose and plot points are ultimately tied up in an overly saccharine little bow (in fact, the movie ultimately skirts the opportunity to address sacrifice and loss during its climax, which could have made a bigger emotional imprint). Still, the characters are sweet and likable, the music is great and the tone is upbeat and positive. This is a film committed in its attempts to show viewers that even the simplest things can bring joy and wonder. Soul may not be the greatest entry in the Pixar franchise, but it is a well-animated and enjoyable feature that will provide families a welcome distraction over the holiday season.