Soul (2020)

Soul

Written by Pete Docter, Mike Jones, & Kemp Powers

Directed by Pete Docter

Accompanying Short: Burrow (2020)

Written & Directed by Madeline Sharafian

It’s Pixar’s first new film since I completed watching the entire list earlier this year! I fully expected to be able to see Soul in movie theaters, but thanks to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released, for free, on Disney+! Having now seen the film, I’m torn on whether I’d have been disappointed if I had paid to see it, because while I love the message of the film (like, REALLY love it), I’m not sure the film was entirely successful in its storytelling. Since the film was just released, there be spoilers ahead. You know the drill.

Burrow’s heroine discovers a neighbor

As is tradition with these Pixar reviews, before we dive into Soul, let’s look at the short that would have accompanied it in theaters. Burrow tells the story of a rabbit that is trying to dig itself a home in the ground. However, as she digs, she runs into more and more neighbors who have also burrowed holes. She doesn’t show them her plans (for unexplained reasons) and eventually almost floods everyone’s homes, at which point they all band together to help her build her burrow. I…didn’t like this short very much. It’s hard to put my finger on just what I didn’t like about it, but I just didn’t. The animation style wasn’t my favorite, with an almost anime style that I couldn’t get into. I also have no idea why she wouldn’t show her plans to her neighbors, seemingly going out of her way to hide them, when from what I can tell, they’re nothing but nice and understanding. I don’t know…this short just didn’t do anything for me.

Jamie Foxx stars as Joe Gardner

Soul, however, at least has some very interesting concepts to help it along, even though it stumbles. It tells the story of Joe Gardner, a middle school band teacher who feels stuck and is being pressured by his mother to get a more secure job. After an audition for a gig that he desperately wants, he accidentally steps in an open sewer and falls to his death. On the other side, he runs from the Great Beyond and ends up in the Great Before, where souls are prepared for life on Earth. Plot happens and he and another soul, merely designated as “22”, are sent back to Earth where he ends up in a cat. More plot happens, he learns the value of living for now, and he decides to give up his life so 22 can go be born and experience it. And then the guides in the Great Before decide to let him live anyway.

22 (Tina Fey) and Joe as souls in the Great Before

The idea of learning to live for now, and to not take for granted the many wonderful aspects of life, is a message that feels profound to me, especially with the pandemic entering its tenth month. To get personal for a moment, while I try not to live with regrets (I’m very big on the idea that all experiences, good and bad, are integral to who we are today), I find it easy to get caught up in the pressures of work, school, home, and life. And, sometimes, that means that the idea of living falls to the wayside. Soul reminds us of the beauty that surrounds us, even in the darkest of times, and that there is no time like the present to go out and live (there’s bitter irony in that that is the one thing we absolutely should NOT be doing during a pandemic; PLEASE STAY HOME). It’s just a message that really speaks to me at this moment in my life: don’t wait to do the things you want; live for NOW, not later.

Joe enters “the zone” as he plays

There are a couple of other great things about the film. First, there are a variety of fun, quick cuts that are hilarious (the cat on the path to the Great Beyond is especially hilarious); these are more frequent in the first half of the film, but I enjoyed them, as they gave the film a much faster pace than it probably actually has. Second, I loved the way that Joe describes what happens when he plays music and enters “the zone”: his descriptions felt so familiar to me, as they’re the same feelings I get when reading a beloved book or watching a favorite film. The arts have the ability to both escape and to heal, and Joe’s description felt incredibly accurate.

The pathway to the Great Beyond

My biggest issue with the film is the ending. Joe decides that he is willing to give up his life in order for 22 to live (there’s a whole semi-convoluted explanation as to why those things are linked, I just don’t feel like explaining it. Watch the movie). So, he makes a really touching sacrifice, helps send 22 to Earth to be born, and then heads to the Great Beyond, satisfied. BUT THEN, the guides of the Great Before make an exception and let him go back to his body, where he now has the knowledge he’s gained on the other side and is ready to really live. Great. Except, he already made that sacrifice. Letting him go back just negates the full emotional power of that choice. It’s basically the filmmaker’s way of having their cake and eating it, too. There’s some other plot details and holes that aren’t fully explained away, but Pixar IS notorious for not explaining some things if it’s not entirely relevant to the story. I can’t say exactly why the ending doesn’t sit well with me, but it felt like a stumble at the finish line.

As I said, I like the message of the film, but I still come away from it feeling…incomplete. It feels like a companion film to Inside Out, and while this film has a very different style and message, I feel like Inside Out still did better at communicating its message, and depicting its internal universe, better than Soul does. It’s got some good humor, as well, but it just doesn’t quite measure up to the greats in Pixar’s library.

SHORT GRADE: C-

FILM GRADE: B-