As as hardcore Disney movie, its a must for me to watch most, if not all big Disney or Pixar releases. With that in mind, of course I had to watch the movie Soul, which was released to Disney+ on Christmas day. The movie stars Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey, and it actually focuses on some incredibly deep topics. Disney knows how to hit you in the feels and that's why I will forever love them. I honestly didn't know how I'd feel about this one. Initially, when we start started hearing of it probably back in early 2019 or so, I loved the concept. Still was interested in the trailers, but I all along said it would either be incredibly depressing or incredibly inspiring. I won't lie, it has touches of both aspects in it, but you know what? That's just good story telling. And such is life, in all reality. Warning before you read anything further: SPOILER HEAVY. If you have not yet watched Soul, and would like to without having the entire plot ruined for you, please turn back now. I wrote this review as I was watching the movie, much like how I do most of my album reviews. Which speaking of, I'm aware that this is unlike everything I've ever done before, and no, I am not going to start suddenly doing a ton of movie reviews. Music is still my number one focus and always will be. I just started watching it, had some thoughts and said why not really? And you know what, still kind of counts since this is a movie about a musician. The lead role, Joe Gardner has a brush with death just as he's beginning to find a big break as a jazz musician so he can quit his job as a middle school music teacher that isn't quite fulfilling his soul. With this, he ends up in a much nicer purgatory and is ultimately assigned a soul to assist. His mission is to find a spark for this growing little soul, who happens to be extremely stubborn and wants absolutely nothing to do with life on Earth.
In just the first thirty minutes alone they crack some jokes and just flat out acknowledge some very strong life things that most adults face such as depression, anxiety and rejection. Going into this, I pretty quickly said this movie is either going to be incredibly inspiring or incredibly depressing, and that this is really not quite a movie for kids. Its not so dark that its inappropriate for children, but I do think it might not appeal to a lot of children either. I'm also shocked to say I've caught very few hidden Mickeys. In fact, I only caught one and that was when Number 22 was changing their form and changed their voice. They sounded exactly like Carl from Up, so I count that as a reference. I'm just an hour in though and haven't caught anything further -not even the Pizza Planet truck which surely is going to be easily hidden on the streets of New York, where this movie takes place. It takes a bit, but you do start to see some of the more light hearted, kid friendly humor. Like the Freaky Friday moment of Number 22 ending up in Joe's body and Joe ending up in a cat's for them to sort through everything to find Number 22's spark. 54 minutes in, and Number 22 is amazing. She may have absolutely no idea what the meaning of existence is and wants to just continue to exist between the planes of life, but she's really intelligent and deep. Which is fitting since she's had some of the most inspirational mentors of all time, such as Ghandi and Mother Theresa, and she's just having fun enjoying the little things. Like the way things taste, and reflections on windows. And she's really good at getting people to open up and feel confident in themselves. Perhaps she'll end up a therapist for children, or doing something else powerful for other humans. Either way, just being on Earth for what I'm assuming is only a few hours, she's lost her hatred of humans and life on Earth and seems to be finding herself genuinely having a good time. 59 minutes in -caught another reference! The subway they go to get on is labeled 2319, referencing Monsters Inc. Shame they didn't have some orange on the subway train, just to add to that reference. If you don't get it, we cannot be friends, I'm sorry. "This isn't about my career, Mom. This is my reason for living." That's a damn good line right there. Finding happiness in what you do, not just paying the bills. 22 really devels into the little things and its kind of beautiful in a way, and she kind of hit hard with a line she said. She said, "I always wondered if I'm not good enough for life." But then he showed her little things, she saw his mom sew his pants with just a small thing of thread, she appreciated someone giving her a lollipop to calm her down. Even said a guy yelled at her on the subway but she kind of liked it -kinky, good job Disney. I kid, I'm sure that was more of an adrenaline rush. 22 then finds her passion, and wasn't positive where it came from. He assumed it was because she was in his body, so he was really living off of her spark. But obviously that couldn't be the case, since its the soul that matters, not the body. And she hated music and pretty much everything, up until that point. "A spark isn't a soul's purpose, its your meanings of life. Its so basic." His spark is music, he's extremely sure of this fact. Meanwhile she has her last piece, but is lost and has no idea what her true purpose truly is. Just knows she's whole and doesn't quite know what to do with herself. Knowing Disney, he's going to end up realizing having a passion is meaningless without someone to share it with and somehow ending up back in the Beyond to find 22, because there's an obvious friendship forming. After he gets to actually play the show of a lifetime for him, with a critically acclaimed artist, of course. I completely called that. Which either means this speaks to my soul (pun completely intended) or I just know Disney that well. Both seems entirely likely. He got a taste of his dream and realized the dreams never add up to the reality, its no where near the same. As he's reflecting, he's understanding its the little moments along the way. Which when written down on paper, sounds entirely cheesy and dumb, but there is a lot of truth behind it. Its a fairly typical moral, but told in a different way. No two stories, lives, or souls are exactly the same. He starts playing his piano for fun, allows himself to be swept away with the music and finds himself back in the zone, so he can find the beyond and do exactly what I said. He's going back to find her, but now she's lost because she's practically lived but hasn't really. Lost souls in this movie are just people who have lost their ways, grown obsessed with something that's consumed their very being, or have been overwhelmed with anxieties. They get easily scared, and run, even if something might lead them to their true being. Sound familiar? Damn, Disney. They had such a strong visual representation of what it feels like to feel like you're not good enough, partly because of things people have said to you. Its a whirlwind of dark dust, and memories of people telling you what's wrong with you, of a voice telling you you just have no purpose. Telling yourself you just give up. That damn near made me cry, that was so well done. How sweet! He gave up his chances, so she could get a life of her own, and went as far as he could with her so she could feel ready. Then they gave him a second chance because of all his hard work, and his ultimate sacrifice. That was a beautiful ending. He might not know ultimately what he's going to do with his life, but he's going to live every moment of it. Ten out of ten, I definitely recommend it, especially if someone out there is in need of an inspiration burst. A spark, if you will. The only thing I wish is that we would have seen what happened with Number 22, and if they would have given her an actual name. That's my only real critique. You can watch it on Disney+ for free right now, and does not currently appear to be available for sale at this time. I'm assuming that may come at a later date.
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