Soul (2020) review (Disney+)

If there was even remotely a downside to the wondrous prospect of getting two Pixar films in a single year, it would be the fact that the more well-received entry of the two always ends up overshadowing the other. To be fair, though, this is never the films’ fault as it’s just the natural consequence of the consistently competitive nature of the film industry. Still, there’s no denying that this scenario has very much happened before whenever Pixar releases multiple films in a year. Whereas 2015’s Inside Out was their biggest hit in years, The Good Dinosaur was their first major commercial flop. And in 2017, all eyes were on the two-time Oscar winner that was Coco, thus leaving the decent Cars 3, a genuinely superior follow-up to what ended up being Pixar’s first critical dud (2011’s Cars 2), in the dust. Sure enough, this is something that will probably happen this year as well, which began with the release of Dan Scanlon’s Onward, a film that, despite being royally screwed over by COVID from a financial perspective did solidly with critics but not quite as well as Soul has fared with them. To reiterate, though, everything that I’ve said in this intro is not meant to be a dig against Soul; I mean, seriously, how could I when it’s the latest outing from one of Pixar’s most prolific directors, Pete Docter. Simply put, Pixar’s newly appointed Chief Creative Officer has been responsible for some of their most critically acclaimed releases such as the previously mentioned Inside Out, his directorial debut from 2001, Monsters Inc, and 2009’s Up AKA the second-ever animated film in history to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars after Beauty and the Beast. And sure enough, he delivers yet another beautifully animated and emotionally poignant masterpiece with Soul.

Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) is a part-time music teacher in New York City who, despite being offered a full-time teaching gig, primarily aspires to become a jazz musician just like his late father. Luckily for him, he manages to earn an opportunity to achieve that dream when he impresses legendary jazz performer Dorothea Williams (voiced by Angela Bassett) enough for her to invite him to perform with her band. Unfortunately for Joe, his big break is then immediately upended when he ends up in an accident that puts him on a one-way ticket to the Great Beyond. However, Joe’s insistence that it isn’t his time results in him escaping into the exact opposite dimension, the Great Before, where all new human souls are molded into the personalities that they’ll become once they arrive on Earth. It is there that Joe meets 22 (voiced by Tina Fey), a soul who has been stuck in the Great Before for quite some time because of her cynical outlook on life on Earth that has kept her from finding the ‘spark’ that completes a soul’s identity. And once he figures out that he’s still alive on Earth, Joe teams up with 22 to try and get him back into his body so that his life won’t end up being a complete waste of his potential; in the process, Joe even begins to convince 22 of all the great things that life has to offer.

While it’s probably easy to compare this film to Pete Docter’s last project, Inside Out, it should be noted that Soul is far from being a ‘clone’ of that film. Instead, I’d describe it as a ‘spiritual companion’ piece since both films focus on the things that make us humans tick, albeit through different methods. In the case of Inside Out, this was, of course, by way of it exploring the concept of one’s emotions, thus showcasing the importance of all facets of the emotional spectrum rather than just a single emotional trait. As for Soul… well, the title speaks for itself as Docter and co-director Kemp Powers do a fantastic job of tackling themes such as finding one’s purpose in life and the unique things that folks are passionate about. This naturally results in a lot of great emotional moments which, to be fair, is something that you can always expect to see in a Pixar film but are arguably even more powerful here given the subject matter and how it encourages us all to live our lives to the fullest. And as to be expected from a Pixar film, Soul sports some terrific animation, especially when it comes to the wonderfully abstract landscape that is the Great Before where the counselors who oversee everything are presented as if they’re two-dimensional beings in this computer-animated feature. Plus, the entire film is bolstered by a great collection of delightful jazz tunes from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s Jon Batiste.

One long-standing Pixar tradition that Soul dutifully maintains is the well-layered lead duo that headlines the story; in this instance, we have Joe Gardner and Soul #22, who easily take their place alongside other classic Pixar duos such as Woody and Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story series and Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc. As Joe, Jamie Foxx does a great job in making the aspiring jazz musician a solidly likable protagonist even with all the instances where his lofty aspirations end up clouding his judgment to the point where he makes some selfish decisions. And as 22, Tina Fey is a natural fit for the role of Joe’s hilariously snarky sidekick who ends up getting just as many great emotional beats as he does since her sarcastic persona is revealed to be masking an incredibly sympathetic backstory. Soul also has plenty of another Pixar staple, memorable supporting characters, and while I do think that this is another instance like Onward where the story largely focuses more on Joe and 22 than anyone else, that doesn’t mean that we don’t get a bunch of fun side characters. U.K. talk-show host Graham Norton, for example, is an utter delight as Moonwind, an eccentric sign twirler on Earth who also helps save lost souls in the Great Before. There’s also plenty of reliable supporting players such as Rachel House as Terry, the official soul counter of the Great Beyond who tries to locate Joe when he goes missing, Alice Braga and Richard Ayoade as two of the Counselors in the Great Before (who, for the record, are all named Jerry), and Phylicia Rashad as Joe’s overbearing mother Libba.

I realize that what I’m about to say will probably be one of the most cliched and obvious statements that I’ve ever made as a film critic, but at the same time, it’s ironically an incredibly apt way of conveying exactly what kind of film this is. In other words, the one word that I would use to describe Pete Docter’s Soul is that it’s… soulful. With gorgeous animation and a top-notch story that tackles incredibly relevant concepts, Soul is arguably one of the best examples of an animated film that flawlessly appeals to both kids and adults. It covers some of the most thematically deep and mature themes that have ever been featured in a Pixar film and, in true Pixar fashion, pulls off an emotionally cathartic tale that, above all, ends up being a heartwarming celebration of life, thus making this an incredibly timely release in the age of COVID-19. Sure, COVID may have been the reason why Soul was forced to forego its theatrical release in favor of debuting on Disney+, but that doesn’t stop it from being another one of Pixar’s modern masterpieces. To be fair, though, that’s basically what’s to be expected at this point when it comes to the Pixar films that are directed by Pete Docter, and while this is probably going to be his last directorial effort for a while as he transitions into the role of Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, it’s safe to say that this will attract a lot of attention during awards season.

Rating: 5/5!

Inside Out (2015) review

Ah Pixar, what a great animation company you are! Ever since they first started making computer animated short films in 1986 (technically 1984 if you count ‘The Adventures of Andre and Wally B.’), which then led to them making feature-length computer animated films starting with 1995’s ‘Toy Story’, they have consistently entertained both kids and adults alike with their excellent lineup of animated classics that are not only beautifully animated but also show amazing maturity in their writing with their great stories and characters. But since ‘Toy Story 3’ in 2010, many feel that Pixar has been in a bit of a slump writing-wise. 2011’s ‘Cars 2’ was the first major Pixar film to receive primarily negative reviews from critics and while both 2012’s ‘Brave’ and 2013’s ‘Monsters University’ received better reviews, neither of which were as beloved by both critics and audiences as much as Pixar’s previous work. Personally I’m not really one of those people who thinks that Pixar has been going downhill. While I haven’t seen it since it first came out, I remember liking ‘Cars 2’. And while ‘Brave’ was rather disappointing due to the film’s shift in tone halfway through, I actually really loved ‘Monsters University’. But as for their newest film, ‘Inside Out’, the first of two Pixar films this year (a first for the studio), and the first since ‘Cars 2’ to be directed by one of Pixar’s main lineup of directors (in this case Pete Docter (‘Monsters Inc.’, ‘Up’)), I can safely say that this is the best film Pixar has done since ‘Toy Story 3’. Of course like with every Pixar film, the animation is superb. But the film also succeeds thanks to its incredibly effective emotional depth (pun intended). It’s a film that is guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings.

The film primarily focuses on a 11-year old girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), who moves from Minnesota to San Francisco with her parents (Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan) when her father gets a new job. It is established that within everyone’s mind are a group of personified emotions that help guide their humans through life and form their memories, the most important of which, which are referred to as ‘Core Memories’, help define their personality. In the case of Riley, her main emotions are Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). As Riley starts to adjust to life in her new city, the other emotions start to express major concerns about the move while Joy tries to keep everything positive. But on Riley’s first day of school, trouble ensues when Sadness interferes with one of Riley’s memories. When Joy tries to fix the problem, both her and Sadness end up getting sucked out of Headquarters. Now stuck in Long Term Memory, the far reaches of Riley’s mind where all of her past memories are stored, the two try to get back to Headquarters in order to get Riley’s emotional state back to normal, which gets more and more out of whack as Fear, Anger, and Disgust try to keep everything under control back at Headquarters but end up alienating Riley from everyone around her.

Like with any Pixar production, the animation is superb; in fact, I’d argue it’s one of Pixar’s best-looking films to date. It’s definitely one of the company’s more ‘cartoonish’ visual styles but it results in some truly eye-catching imagery with all that goes on in Riley’s mind, particularly when Joy and Sadness go through Riley’s imagination and dreams. And that really correlates to how I describe this film as a whole; imaginative. It’s a fun concept that is explored further as we see inside the minds of other characters, including both of Riley’s parents and a whole slew of characters during the credits. But what really makes the film work is that it very much succeeds when it comes to its emotional depth and substance. For one thing, the events of the story are things that I’m pretty sure that we have all gone through at some point in our lives, whether it’s moving to a new town/city or being the new kid at school. And it’s all handled with the maturity that you would normally expect from Pixar. I guarantee you that you will get emotional at certain points in the film, with some scenes in particular being really hard-hitting. But at the same time, the film also manages to lighten things up at just the right moments with its fair share of humorous moments/dialogue. And really it couldn’t be any more fitting that a film primarily about the emotions in you heads highly succeeds in making you feel all sorts of emotions.

Speaking of said emotions, this film features a great cast of characters as personified by Riley’s emotions. One of the things that I really liked about the film was that, while the main conflict of the film (Joy and Sadness getting sucked out of HQ and having to find a way back) is caused by Sadness and the rest of the emotions, especially Joy, are rather hesitant about her due to her tendency to cause problems, it doesn’t try and paint her in a negative light. It shows that there will be times where you will feel sad and that this is perfectly okay. And as a result, it’s fun to see the interactions between all of the emotions, especially the polar opposites that are Joy and Sadness. And in regards to the film’s voice cast, Pixar couldn’t have gotten a better cast to fill these roles. Amy Poehler is incredibly charming and likable in the role of Joy while managing to not make Joy too overly, for lack of a better term, ‘joyful’, which admittedly could’ve made the character rather annoying. Phyllis Smith just has the perfect voice to fill the role of Sadness as does Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling as Fear and Disgust, respectively. And Lewis Black as Anger? I mean come on, that is the very definition of ‘perfect casting’. But then you also have arguably the standout character of the entire film in the form of Bing Bong (Richard Kind), an elephant, cat, and dolphin hybrid (you’ll understand what I mean when you see the film) and Riley’s former imaginary friend who helps Joy and Sadness get back to headquarters. He too also gets a few emotional moments as well; without giving anything major away, prepare to get ‘taken to the moon’.

As I noted earlier in the intro, I’m not one of those people who believes that Pixar went downhill after ‘Toy Story 3’. I mean sure, at the end of the day, I couldn’t say that ‘Cars 2’, ‘Brave’, or even ‘Monsters University’ are amongst Pixar’s absolutely best work but that doesn’t mean that I think that they’re terrible. They each still have their own unique good qualities to them that at the very least make them good for kids. But that’s not what many people expect from Pixar; to just be ‘good for kids’. Pixar’s greatest works have been able to transcend the limits of animated films with their mature writing, strong stories, and iconic characters, which ultimately makes many of their films highly appealing to adults just as much as they are to kids. And that is why ‘Inside Out’ is the best film that the company has made since ‘Toy Story 3’. Of course it’s got Pixar’s trademark excellent animation, which in the case of ‘Inside Out’ produces a whole lot of colorful and imaginative imagery, as well as a pitch perfect voice cast. But the term ‘imaginative’ goes even further than that as the film’s great premise also results in some of Pixar’s most mature story-telling to date. It captures the emotional side of its characters in ways that we can all relate to given some of the things that happen to the character of Riley as she and her family move to a new city. As silly as this next sentence may sound, you will get emotional over a film that is primarily about emotions. This is easily not only the best animated film of the year so far but also easily one of the best films of the year period. After some missteps the past few years, Pixar finally strikes pure gold for the first time in a while.

Rating: 5/5!