I’m not crying. You’re crying.
Soul is the latest film from Pixar that landed on Disney+ just in time to bring joy to families all over for Christmas. Not to sound cheesy or corny, but Soul moves your soul. This is top tier Pixar and lived up to all my expectations. The film is co-written and co-directed by Pixar’s MVP Pete Docter, who is best known for Monsters Inc., Up and Inside Out, so I already knew this film was going to pull at the heartstrings.
The last 5 minutes of the film are some of the most emotional minutes in Pixar history. This film will make you cry, laugh, and leave you with a profound feeling of living your life to the fullest. Docter once again captures the magic of what a Pixar film should be. I’m glad that he didn’t retreat to the same ground that he covered with Inside Out, which was a small fear I had. Thankfully, this was different.
The film follows a middle school music teacher named Joe Gardner, who seeks to reunite his soul and his body after being accidentally separated, just before his big break as a jazz musician.
Jamie Foxx as Gardner and Tina Fey as 22 give fantastic voice performances and have great chemistry. Their back and forth banter was so great and was the highlight of the film for me. Jamie’s performance was something extraordinary. He brought such a subtle approach to his work with his soft voice. He is instantly becoming one of my favorite Pixar characters ever. Being a big fan of 30 Rock, I know very well how hilarious Tina can be, and thanks to a great script that had many funny moments, her comedy skills were on full display.
Other highlights from the voice cast include Rachel House and Richard Ayoade, who were excellent. Graham Norton and Alice Braga, who I had no idea were in this, also did excellent work. I really would have loved more of Norton because it was just gold.
Docter co-directed and co-wrote the film with Kemp Powers, who has to have had the best Christmas in the business as he wrote the screenplay for Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami, which also arrived in theaters on Christmas. This screenplay was incredible and will undoubtedly earn the pair an Original Screenplay nomination at the Oscars.
I loved how the script had constant comedy perfectly balanced with the classic Pixar emotionally heavy scenes. This is probably the most mature work that Pixar has ever done. It showed a lot of growth. Some of the themes it tackled were of a grave adult matter that the younger crowd might not get, but I loved it.
The film does a great job about representation as this is the first Pixar film with a black lead. I loved that because, similar to how Black Panther allowed young black kids to see themselves on screen, this will have a similar impact. I’m also happy that almost all of the human supporting cast was of African American descent.
Pixar keeps pushing the envelope regarding animation and Soul might be one of their most visually beautiful films. The animation was stunning, with distinctive colors that pop out of the screen, thanks to excellent cinematography. I’m from New York, and the way they captured my city was incredible, such fantastic attention to detail. There is a barbershop scene that perfectly captures the vibe you feel at a NY shop.
The music was great. The jazz music was soulful, but that’s not even the best aspect regarding the music. Being a big fan of A Tribe Called Quest, I completely lost it when “Check the Rhime” came on. I’d never thought I’d hear ATCQ in a Pixar film.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross delivered a beautiful score. I fully expect them to be double nominees at the Oscars for this and their excellent Mank score. However, I feel this is their better chance to win. I’ll go as far as saying this might be their best score since their Oscar-winning score for The Social Network.
While I loved the script, the one issue I had with the film was how predictable it was. There are hardly any surprises, which isn’t a bad thing, but I would have just liked some surprise element to add some shock value to an already incredible film.
As our terrible 2020 comes to a close, Pixar manages to deliver one of the best movies of the year that will bring so much joy to families worldwide. I loved the film’s message about living your life to the fullest. In these dark times, a little positivity goes a long way and I feel confident saying this will win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
