SOUL Review
SOUL may have been the best film that Pixar could release in the strange, tragic year of 2020. Coming from the mind of Pixar mainstay director Pete Docter (with Kemp Powers taking co-directing, who also co-wrote the film with Docter and Mike Jones), SOUL is another vibrantly animated film that grapples probably with one of the more existential themes I’ve seen Pixar set their sights on: the afterlife and what exactly brings us joy in our fleeting lives — indeed pairing this film with INSIDE OUT will have one contemplating (and appreciating) the meanings and intricacies of their life in more ways than one. At a time where many of us grappled with the idea of death and lives that may or may not have been fulfilled, SOUL acted as a sort of pat-on-the-back; a cinematic light at the end of an uncertain tunnel.
Set in a dazzling rendition of New York City, we follow the journey of aspiring jazz musician and middle school teacher, Joe (Jamie Foxx). A man constantly reaching for that dream of being a full time musician, Joe has, like many of us, been relegated to a life of settling due to responsibilities and detours that have occupied his focus. When the chance of a lifetime does come around for good old Joe, life throws a wrench (and manhole) into his plans, lifting him off to The Great Beyond; a literal escalator where our souls (here visualized as cute little blue flame-like sprites) are lifted up to and then unceremoniously granted entrance through the hilarious sounds of an electrical zapper extinguishing bugs. Not quite ready to meet his end, Sprite Joe jumps off the escalator and finds himself in a purgatory occupied by newborn souls and their humorously calm 2D squiggle babysitters (a cast that includes the tranquil voices of Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, and the scene-stealing Rachel House), who mold and shape these new souls into the people they will be become once they make their way to Earth.
One of Pixar’s more trippy settings, the In-Between seemingly sets up an even more abstract journey through not-death, but it’s when Joe runs into a longtime soul that’s simply named, 22 (Tina Fey), that the film takes a route towards the entertaining yet well worn path of body-switching as Joe and 22 go AWOL and head back to Earth with Joe inhabiting the body of a cat and 22 now controlling Joe. From there, as Joe shows 22 the joys of living on Earth, SOUL slowly shifts into a tale that focuses on the themes of our life goals and dreams and the ways they influence us — even when don’t exactly know what our dreams and goals actually are, even when we think we do.
Despite a plot wrapped around the idea of death and meaning, SOUL moves at a placid pace, as the audience strolls right with Joe and 22 through their journey. Not that anyone would complain thanks to the wonderful work of Pixar’s animated team who offer striking landscapes and scrumptious details of NYC streets in addition to the more subdued (yet still ingenious) creations found in the worlds of the afterlife and in between. Interestingly, where the character design of the humans on Earth are exaggerated yet still human, the designs of characters within the afterlife and In-Between is simple yet memorable, particularly the Picasso-like doodles of the In-Between whose androgynous vocals(a voice cast of docile performers) and traits (all the beings go by the name of Terry, for example) bolster the unwieldy world of death and all that follows. In this world of wayward and burgeoning souls, SOUL itself demonstrates the creative team of Pixar once more striking it out of the park in regards to world creation.
Where the film loses me is in the antics that Joe and 22 get into on Earth which, compared to their antics in the more interesting world of the afterlife, feels a tad more plodding. On Earth, as 22 grows to appreciate a world they once wanted no part of, and Joe, who begins to realize everything he’s been underappreciating in the world, the general placid pace hinders the film from being one of Pixar’s funniest or zippiest. Indeed, where the laughs lack in the film’s latter half, with a character conflict that, in the moment, feels tacked on and a little confusing, Docter, Jones, and Powers reveal the weighty themes they’ve been pursuing. What once starts as a story of a man not ready to die soon becomes a tale of a man (and a new soul) realizing that life isn’t built for just one dream; the beauty of it all is that we, as humans, can develop new ones at any part of our life while still appreciating the natural routes that our lives take us on. With an ending that at once suggests a dark direction, only to gracefully pivot towards a surprising open ending full of optimism, SOUL is real heady stuff for a “kid’s film”, but if anything, this proves once again that animated film are simply just another route for creatives to deliver entrancing, mature themes.
SOUL feels like a “grower” film, at least for me. It didn’t exactly hold my attention the entire time but it’s lasted in thought and I imagine in future re-watches that Docter and Powers’ film will only grow in acclaim in my mind. Whether you watch this in dark times or in bright, SOUL brings a magic of sorts that asks us to the see the beauty of a strange life like ours, to truly step back and glance at those corners that may just give us the dreams we never knew we wanted.
3.5/5
