Soul
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Phylicia Rashad
Directed By: Pete Docter and Kemp Powers
Rated: PG
Pixar is not afraid to tackle emotionally weighty topics in creative ways. Onward dealt with moving on after the loss of a loved one. Coco confronted life after death. Inside Out explored the vast world of emotions. The studio is at it again with its latest Soul project, which explores some of the most mature themes to date.
The film follows Joe (Jamie Foxx), a part-time high school band teacher who dreams of making it big as a jazz musician. He takes gigs as often as possible but can’t seem to make a career out of his passion. Opportunity knocks when he’s offered a gig with a jazz legend. Could this be the turning point for Joe? When things seem to be turning around, he has an unexpected accident, leaving him comatose. He seems to be headed towards “The Great Beyond,” but he is determined not to die. Through this unexplainable place, Joe races and finds himself in “The Great Before,” where souls live before they go to earth. It’s there that he becomes a mentor to “22” (Tina Fey), a young soul who hates earth. The two embark on a journey to get Joe back to earth before the gig could change his life. Perhaps they’ll find something more along the way.
Director Pete Docter has been at the helm of several Pixar films, including Monsters Inc., Up, and Inside Out. If I’ve written this a million times, I’ll write it a million and one. Pixar will not stop making the same movie and repackaging it differently. Please, Pixar, come up with a new formula! The “lead character goes on a quest with a silly sidekick and ponders life” has been overdone! Please, try something new. I will give Soul some credit; it is certainly the most existential of any recent Pixar movies. It seems like a Pixar film geared towards an older audience considering its themes of life after death, finding the meaning of life, searching for purpose, etc. I’m not sure if kids will latch on to such a weighty script, but what do I know. The rest of their movies have been huge hits so I could be totally wrong.
The animation in Soul is stunning. This is one of the most beautiful Pixar films I’ve ever seen. The New York City landscapes look strikingly realistic. The attention to detail in both the characters and the cityscapes are fantastic. The design of The Great Beyond and The Great Before is wonderfully colorful. This will be a sure fire contender for Best Animated film at the Academy Awards.
Soul boasts beautiful animation and a talented voice cast. Yet, I walk away from another Pixar film feeling a bit tired of being fed the same formula over and over again.
My Rating: 7/10