Special to the Daily)
I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way. The movie, which premieres on Disney+ Christmas Day, is a powerful, deeply nuanced meditation on finding meaning in life. Any adult watching will likely be struck with at least one profound moment during the course of the movie, and some may actually have their entire perspective on life shifted. Beyond that, it’s just entertaining to watch.
The thing is, most people who turn on a Pixar movie expect their children will like it as well. And, aside from a few low-hanging gags and a particularly delightful sequence near the middle of the film, there doesn’t seem to be a lot here for kids to enjoy. The main characters are either old in body and spirit, already plagued by disappointments and regrets, and the main theme of the movie is trying to understand the purpose of living. That’s not the kind of issue that even occurs to you before you’re a teenager, and it’s not something you really start to grasp the importance of until you’re at least in your 20s.
The movie starts with Joe, a middle-aged music teacher wrestling with the question of teaching full time or continuing to pursue his dream of being a successful musician. An incident after a particularly successful audition leads him to an early death, which immediately throws him into the afterlife on his way to the Great Beyond. Joe fights against his fate, leading him to the realm where souls hang out before they get sent to Earth in the first place. That’s where he meets 22, a soul who’s been successfully putting off her own appearance on Earth for centuries.
This is the point in the description where anyone who’s seen a movie set in the afterlife can start to guess where the plot is headed. The great thing is that it stays there for a solid half hour, then takes a sharp left turn into a much more interesting interpretation that lets “Soul” explore things that previous afterlife movies haven’t. Telling you anything about that particular left turn or what follows would spoil the fun, especially because for once the trailers have been careful about not revealing the details, either.
It’s also quite a funny movie. There’s one particular moment that’s basically a very quick poop joke, but mostly the humor is a fun mix of visual gags, referential humor and a more gently absurdist wordplay. There’s one run that consists almost entirely of genuinely delightful slapstick, but even that is styled in such a way that it might appeal to adults in the audience even more than the kids.
Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. As long as you turn it on for yourself rather than your 8-year-old, “Soul” is one trip to the afterlife you won’t mind taking again and again.
Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society. Find her on Twitter at @wardellwriter or drop her a line at themovieguruslc@gmail.com.
“Soul”
Rated: PG for thematic elements and some language
Story and screenplay by: Pete Docter, Mike Jones, and Kemp Powers
Directed by: Pete Doctor, co-directed by Kemp Powers
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, Angela Bassett and more
Grade: Three and a half stars (out of four)
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