On January 12th, Pixar’s animation film Soul was released in theaters for the first time in 2024, as it was one of the movies that was delayed several times as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that was delayed several times, some other movies
include Turning Red and Luca. Soul was nominated for the best animated feature film and got an Oscar for the best original score in 2021. It was one of the few movies that also featured a black lead and shone the light on the richness of African American traditions and artistic forms. According to Pete Docter, head of Pixar, stated that the story of Soul had been developed and worked on since January 2016.
The animated comedy feature film introduces Joe Gardner (Voiced by Jamie Foxx) a middle-school teacher whose life hasn’t always been up to his expectations but has always had an extreme interest in jazz. He was invited to play at the best jazz club in town by Dorothea Williams, a famous jazz musician. As Joe heads off, his excitement leads him to plunge down an open manhole into the sewer drain. His soul is disembodied and heads to the Great Before, where the afterlife is. Determined to return to his original life, he pairs with up a precocious soul, 22 (Voiced by Tina Fey) he will discover the meaning of having a soul.
Joe wants to get back to the body that was still hooked up to life support. But he’s mistaken for a mentor and randomly assigned to a “soul mate,” No. 22, a soul who’s been around for ages and who seems perfectly content never to “get a life and live in a body.” In fact, 22 prefers it in the Great Before, where countless, more accomplished mentors than Joe — from Marie Antionette to Abraham Lincoln to Mother Theresa — have tried and failed to find her spark. But the overseers — are easygoing enough to let these two give it a go, and before long, they find a loophole that lands them both on earth, leaving with a whole comical sequence between the pair.
MY REVIEW:
The movie’s intro was pretty unhinged with the terrible trombones and the music playing in the background, it also had such fluid and smooth animation, and the usage of colors was immaculate! Some scenes had vibrant colors that seemed like eye candy. I also loved how fleshed out the main character and his backstory was. Joe was a human being that anyone could relate to, as his life was what he wasn’t expecting, but he had a passion that helped him to get through life. Overall, Soul is a great Pixar film: a visually amazing, funny, and thought-provoking story that will put a smile on the faces of the audience. This movie covers heavily on death and the afterlife but still finds a way to give an inspirational message for kids and discuss souls being prepared for Earth.
Rating 4/5
- Nevaehsia Walker Rating: 4/5 AHH I LOVED THIS MOVIE WITH ALL MY HEART, it legit made me cry
- Jonathan Garcia Rating 3/5 I watched this movie with my family, It was pretty decent