With the timely advent of Disney+ and the modern plague which has constrained us all to the comfort of our couches, what better time has there ever been for the consumption of a brand-new Pixar movie? “Soul,” directed by Pete Docter and starring Jamie Foxx (“Project Power”) and Tina Fey (“Wine Country”), sees a welcome addition to the Pixar pantheon and is quite possibly the most introspective film they’ve made to date.
Though not as robust in the narrative department as some classics like “Toy Story” or “The Incredibles,” Pixar’s newest film has three major strengths which help to make it a pleasant and thought-provoking experience: strong and likeable characters, striking and unique animation and an intelligent approach to themes that will draw in audiences across all age groups.
The main characters of “Soul” are both on journeys of self-discovery. Joe Gardner (Foxx) is a high school band teacher with deferred dreams of being a jazz star, while Twenty-Two (Fey) is an unborn soul who has put off going to Earth for thousands of years by being as unbearable as possible. After a wacky mix-up where Joe dies, these two characters meet in the Great Before, a realm where souls get their personalities. Their chemistry, like everything else in the movie, is fairly relaxed and pleasant, offering enough conflict to create moments of comedy and cultivate an understanding between them that pushes their characters into new frontiers of growth. In essence, they teach one another what there is to love about life, a simple but very effective lesson. Joe presents a protagonist who is easy to root for, an artist with a dream and a misguided but well-meaning view of what it means to be happy. On the other hand, Twenty-Two embodies the anxieties people may have about life, presented in a mostly comedic fashion while still managing to hit some poignant notes. Though there are moments in the film where it feels like the two are pushed through the motions of a typical buddy comedy, there is a genuineness in the performances which helps to make up for it. This, coupled with a cast of supporting characters that truly feel alive and interesting, makes for a very human experience.
The animation of “Soul” seems to prove the oft-repeated stance that Pixar continues to top itself. Since the movie takes place in two different realms of existence, the animators were challenged to make them contrast sharply while still retaining beauty in both. The living world is colored in bright sunbeams and distinct shadows that give everything a definite feel, a solidity that is in direct opposition to the dreamlike, cloudy pastels of the Great Before. The designs of the human characters are distinct and interesting, and they feature more black character models than in perhaps any other animated film. The supernatural characters known as “Jerry” and “Terry,” the spirit world’s administrators, are rendered in a surreal two-dimensional style reminiscent of a Picasso painting, giving a unique appeal to this version of the afterlife.
The themes of the film have been lauded by many critics before and for good reason. They explore ideas of having a purpose, how to pursue happiness and what matters when you are alive, framed around Joe’s life experiences. What makes these themes sing is the fact that no easy answers ever really come up, just paths that could be taken if a person wanted to see where they end. The strength of “Soul” is that while it is about life, it doesn’t claim any one kind of absolute view of it. Life simply is.
While plot-wise there is definitely ground that has been tread before, with few narrative surprises and some world-building details that don’t hold up to closer scrutiny, “Soul” is still a masterfully animated and thematically intelligent film. Relaxed, funny and thoughtful, any fan of animation will be glad they gave it a watch.
Image from Pixar via YouTube
