"Soul" Review - Spirits Of The Light

Pixar had an off year with Covid throwing a wrench into their release plans. “Onward” came out right when the great lockdown started, which pushed the film to Disney+ a month later, and we all thought by now “Soul” would have a much better release by now. Sadly, the selfishness of America proves once again we can’t have nice things. While Covid can take the big screens, it surely can't take away the quality.

“Soul” is another perfect pitch hit from the likes of Pixar with a stellar voice cast lead by Jaimie Foxx and Tina Fey, a fantastic script, some stunning ear candy by Jon Baptiste and Trent Razor/Atticus Ross, and probably its strongest suit of all; sheer beauty.

There are plenty of things I can get into, but the beauty alone is worth basking over. I’ve never seen a Pixar movie rendered so magically. As soon as the first minute hits, you are truly taken away to New York City through all the sights and sounds. Whether it’s through the shining streetlights and life-life skyscrapers or the jazz scene that puts La La Land’s clubs to shame, Soul grabs you by the collar and brings you into the most lively world of NYC you can buy. The animation only helps with making the city come to life as well as the imaginative world beyond heaven and hell. With the land known as The Great Before, Disney continues to break boundaries of creating different universes just like in Inside out to fill audiences with glee and amusement all around.

With all the pros out of the way, there was one con, which was something that felt off as I was watching it. It’s quite hard to pin down, but there was a certain kind of magic people like Pete Docter bring to their own films that wasn’t as strong as his three other works. The best way I can put it is it felt too deep and existential. When the credits rolled, my mom just said to me she has no idea if kids will even get this movie, which I sort of have to agree with. Unlike Inside Out or Coco (dir. Lee Unkrich), Soul very much dives deep into the philosophies of the human mind, which as a result, doesn’t do the best job at making you care about all the characters. We all remember the talent show in Coco as well as the first time we hear Remember Me played by Chicharron, or of course dinner table scene in Inside Out; moments that gave us some fun and depth into the worlds of the people we want to care about. Very few of those moments exist in “Soul”. Sure, it’s got lots of humor and heartwarming moments, but it lacks a lot of character development and memorable out of the park moments. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to have a film makes you think. That’s what makes Pixar movies so terrific. But this one unpacks a lot on the viewers. It gets into Being John Makowitch or Eternal Sunshine territory. These kind of films deserve to be over two hours long to make sure they are fully fleshed out. The problem is Soul is less than an hour and a half long. There was so much to explore and many possible plot points or side stories were just hit on the surface. Without those little pieces, the movie feels emptier than it should be. While "Onward" had other separate issues, it did have those pieces which made it a tiny more memorable.

I am judging Peter Docter quite harsh here, but it comes from a good place. After all, he set the bar with Up, which is now one of my favorite animated films of all time. "Soul" is so great as it is already is, but a certain kind of magic was lacking. Don’t threat though, because if you love Pixar as much as I do, you will still appreciate so much about it. I’d compare “Soul” to Lou Malnati’s pizza. Lou’s is the bomb, and you will keep coming back to eat it because it tastes so good. But New York Pizza has a hard to pin magic that can’t be beat. Soul feels like New York and it is set in New York. But unfortunately, it doesn't taste as good as the real thing.

Two Nebs Up!