Disney Pixar’s ‘Soul’ premieres on Disney Plus

Pixar’s Soul, has officially premiered on Disney Plus, and has introduced a new comfort relief for 2020. This animated fantasy- dramedy, stars the incredible voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, and more. Director Pete Docter  and Co-Director Kemp Power, put the Midas touch on the film, and their creative direction shined through the entire time. 

Joe Gardner (Foxx), is an aspiring Jazz Musician- whose life direction went on a different path. He now teaches middle school music, in the heart of New York City, and can not seem to find his “break”. His Seamstress mother, Libba (Rashad), is protestant against her only child chasing a runaway dream. Despite his own mothers sentiments, Joe goes to one more  audition, for the notorious Jazz Musician, Dorothea Williams (Bassett), and surprisingly lands the gig. 

What should have been a joyous moment for Joe, turned into him dying. Yes, just that quick, he died walking carelessly, and walked right into a manhole. Once Joe gains some semblance of conciseness, he realizes that he is headed for the “Great Beyond”, and refusing to die, just before making his big break, he fights to find his way back to earth. In this feeble attempt, he finds himself at the “Great Before”, that mentors souls to enter new life on earth. Posing as a soul mentor, Joe meets 22, who is pessimistic about entering earth, and has yet to find their “Spark” to fulfill their patch of individual traits. 

22 and Joe journey together, in an attempt to find a reason for 22 to exist, or to fill their spark. They somehow find their way back to earth, but not in their original forms. They walk the streets of New York, and together explore what exactly it means to live, and be alive. 

This film bridges together two experiences, of the experienced and inexperienced. Joe, a man who has spent a number of years trying to, in an ironic way find his life spark. He has spent a great number of years rushing through life, that he never actually took the time to slow down and appreciate the gifts that life has already granted him.

22 , a skeptic in the literal sense, has spent a millennia deterring themselves from taking a chance, and going beyond the Great Before. What exactly is it that makes 22 so pessimistic about living? The touching aspect of the movie is that both beings involved gained perspective of the true meaning of life. 

22, whose uncertainty held them back from fulfilling a meaningful life, was able to gain personal experience before venturing out into the real world. In this time, they were able to figure out that their spark was experiencing the little things. That to them, what made life worth living was talking, walking, listening to street artists and watching leaves fall. 

Joe, who spent the majority of his life chasing a dream, never just stopped and appreciated the moment, or the “Nows”. He was so bent on Music being his spark, or his reason for living, that he never realized that being able to breathe alone was a reason for living. 

Together, they were both able to unearth the beauty of life. Soul reveals that constantly being on the go is not what life is about. In moments, one must realize that time will always move forward, and that it is important, or better yet, vital to treat every experience, big or small as a special gift. 

*  Disclosure: Despite the lingering tension surrounding Soul , the characters and the voice actors, I believe it is important to note that 22 is essentially an inanimate object. They were not specified as a race, gender , or being. They were voiced by Tina Fey, but they were not her. So when 22 entered Joes body, it was a soul, entering the body, and not a white woman taking over a black man's body*