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Review: Soul (2020)

Soul (2020)

TLDR: For a year where many may feel like they have lost a little piece of their own, Soul has arrived to remind us all what's most important in life. This is a Pixar film that is arguably more important for adults to watch than kids: it is beautiful - in both story and art, it is quirky, it is heartfelt and, as these trying times endlessly push on, it reminds us that there is still a lot of good in this world to enjoy and reflect upon. 

Note: some spoilers below.

It takes a little bit of time to ease into Disney/Pixar's Soul. Though the film starts out in a lush and beautifully rendered NYC filled with delightful jazz music as we follow Joe around his everyday boroughs, things very quickly run astray. Suddenly, we are thrown into an abstract world filled with Picasso-like wiry characters and massively heady existential concepts like 'where do we come from', 'the great beyond', and much more. If it's not immediately apparent, it soon becomes clear that Joe has died. And not only that, but Joe's next actions likely reflect how many of us feel about the idea of death: he tries jumping off the conveyor belt that is about to erase him as he heads towards darkness... Whoah. Not exactly the vibe I thought this film was going for... Not exactly what I thought I would be watching with my kids, right?... I thought this was going to be a nice and light one perfect for the holidays... But wait, and stick with it...

Soul ends up being an ode to the magic of a life lived. And, in the end, it actually does end up being a perfect film for the holiday season that reteaches us to appreciate the good things that we are all surrounded by. The message is not at all unlike that of other fan-favourite It's A Wonderful Life (which I coincidentally watched the night before). Though Soul at a few points goes slightly off-road in its existential side-plots - aka the whole hippie pirate ship shebang - it is the film's final act that cements this is a must-see and a worthy addition to Pixar's masterclass filmography. No doubt this film will crack away at the iciest of hearts, and make sure you have some tissues nearby and a loved one to hug as the film reaches its conclusion.

Pete Doctor (no stranger to Pixar classics) and Kemp Powers have somehow managed to take questions and concepts that we as humans struggle all of our lives to understand and come to terms with, and they have distilled it into a digestible, entertaining and heartfelt film that families can watch together and then talk about (which is exactly how I watched it). I would not be surprised if parents came out actually declaring that this is not a film for kids, however, I believe that that would be a misstatement because the message and soul of this film is one that everyone needs a reminder of. 

Live every minute of it. 
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