Review | Soul movie review: Pixar’s existential masterpiece takes an emotional trip into the metaphysical world
- A New York music teacher’s unexpected tumble down a manhole is the start of an adventure to make it back to the body he’s left behind in Soul
- Although there’s plenty for kids to enjoy, this feels like the most adult-themed Pixar movie yet, featuring stunning animation and delightful, witty characters
4.5/5 stars
Soul goes further, creating a universe where souls either prepare in “the great before” to plummet to our planet and find their ideal physical body or, after death, head on an escalator to “the great beyond”. The story begins on terra firma, however, with Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a New York middle-school band teacher who still has yearnings to earn a living playing jazz.
When he auditions for sassy musician Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett), he gets the chance he’s been waiting his whole life for. And then, after blithely avoiding falling bricks, oncoming traffic, banana skins and spiky nails, he tumbles down a manhole. Next thing you know, he’s a cute-looking sprite about to meet his maker. “I’m not dying today, not when my life got started,” he cries.
Escaping to “the great before”, Joe is put in charge of mentoring young souls. He’s paired with 22 (Tina Fey), a glum figure who has been through so many previous mentors (Mother Teresa, Muhammad Ali, you name it) and never made it to Earth. Joe sees 22’s plight as a way of making it back to his own body, though not before they’ve travelled to “the zone” where lost souls wander like zombies.
