Movie Review # 422: Soul (2020)

Ladies & gentlemen, welcome back to yet another session of movie reviewing! Today, we are going to be diving back into the Disney/Pixar library. This time, however, we’re going into a different scenario from the other Disney/Pixar films. Why? Because Soul is the first Disney/Pixar film to NOT go to theaters at least in the US. Instead, Pixar decided to jump the gun, and release it straight on Disney+, followed by getting a release on Disney DVD, and Blu-Ray a few months later. Of course, had it not been for a certain ongoing pandemic as of this past year, this film would have gone to theaters before video. Hopefully Disney/Pixar Disney what companies like Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Warner Bros. have been doing, and make future films go to both Disney+ with premiere access, and in theaters simultaneously. It certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea, considering how well it’s seemed to go so far. Still, we’ll see! Anyway, let’s talk about Disney/Pixar’s latest offering, Soul.

Plot: Set in modern day New York City, a musician named Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) lands a gig that could forever change his life. But shortly after, a fatal accident causes Joe to end up in the afterlife. But Joe is not so keen on being dead yet. So, he teams up with another soul named 22 (Tina Fey), and they manage to get back to Earth. Will Joe, and 22 manage to get their souls back on Earth, or will they decide to stay in the afterlife for good?

Okay, for those of us who saw the trailers for this particular animated film, many of us were nervous about Soul being a little too similar to 2015’s Inside Out, were we not? Now, the million dollar question for the day is, “Was that the case for this film?” Surprisingly, no! Sure, it does have similar concepts to that film. However, this film does end up being a movie of it’s own. For one, the afterlife that involves places like the Great Before (where mini people are before going to Earth), and the Great Beyond (where people who have passed away, and are ready for a Heaven-like place go) is an interesting concept at least for a fictional kind of story. The world building is definitely good, but not quite the best. But more on that when I talk about the cons in this film! Also, there’s the really cool blend of computer animation, and hand-drawn animation. Who would have guessed that the day would come when even Disney/Pixar would try out that blending of the two types of animation? There’s also some of the other aspects if the animation, from light being reflected off the sun in certain scenes, the vibrant colors surrounding Joe Gardner when he’s ensconced in the music that he plays throughout the film, and of course how the hand-drawn animation gets mixed in. As for the story itself, it’s not exactly one of Disney/Pixar’s best works. However, one shouldn’t deny how intriguing it is to have a story that could easily have been made into live-action, and had the fantasy version of the afterlife taken out of the equation. However, they instead decided to have a potentially real-life story mixed in with some fantasy type elements. Truthfully, it works fairly well to the film’s credit. The acting is also great. Included in the cast are Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Rachel House, Phylicia Rashad, and a few others. They definitely do their best to put their best into their characters. The soundtrack is also at least good. Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, & Jon Batiste all joined to conduct the music for this film. While it may not be quite the best, they do a very nice job with it, whether it be in the slow moments, and adrenaline-rushing type moments, or ones’s like those. It’s also good that the score composers mixed in some jazz, piano playing, and some nice trumpet, or trombone playing in as well. The movie is also very funny at points too, especially when Joe gets involved with a cat character in this film, who, as some of you may recall, is featured in one of the posters of this film with the main character, Joe. The movie also has a nice message about learning to not only think about your passions in life, but to also enjoy the simplicities of life, and life in general.

While these are very good things about the film, Soul does also have downgraded as well. First off, the film, like 2017’s Coco, has a unique music playing when the Disney logo shows up in the beginning. I won’t say how the music plays. However, the music that does play can come off as a little too loud, and obnoxious. Considering the direction that this film was presumably trying to take, some music that might have been a little more calm, and peaceful, like piano playing, or something like that, might have been better. Next, there’s the world building. Okay, yes, I did mention that places like the Great Before, and one, or two areas of the afterlife were very well made, and developed. However, there were certain places in the afterlife that didn’t seem to be well built, or thought out. I mean the world building of the afterlife seemed to have a little more potential, and didn’t seem to quite to live up to that. Additionally, there were some points in this film that could possibly feel a little cringeworthy. In addition to these, some of the characters could most likely feel rather bland, and one-noted. Yes, some of them, like our main ones, are well developed. However, for some of the others, that seems to be a different story. But hey, at least of them are likable nonetheless.

And that’s my review for Disney/Pixar’s Soul. Looking back, could this film have performed well in theaters if it wasn’t for the current COVID-19 pandemic? Well, it’s likely safe to say that it could have. However, regardless of whether or not that would have been the case, one can’t be too certain if most people would have liked it as much as films like Toy Story, Inside Out, or even Coco, or if people would have like Soul better. Well, either way, Soul should still be recognized, and be seen by more people. Soul may not be one of Disney/Pixar’s best films. Still, more people should see it, and decide that for themselves. I would say that you should see Soul just to see how you might compare it to the rest of Disney/Pixar’s movies over the years. Even if you may hit like this film as much as the others, there are plenty of redeeming qualities that still make this film worth your while.

Final Grade: B