"Soul," a Pixar film, is about a jazz pianist who has a near-death experience and becomes trapped in the afterlife, where he ponders his decisions and regrets the life he generally took for granted. Despite its serious subjects, the movie is light-hearted. A musician may compare "Soul" to a long riff or a five-finger exercise, both of which are very much in the spirit of jazz, an improvisation-centered art style that is respectfully and accurately depicted onscreen anytime Joe or another musician character begins to perform.
Joe falls into an open manhole and ends up comatose in a hospital in the prologue. It's a disappointing twist to a terrific day for Joe, who was finally awarded a teaching position at his school and then nailed an audition with Dorothea Williams, a visiting jazz star who had invited him to play with her that night. Joe's spirit is taken to the Great Beyond after his near-fatal pratfall—basically, a cosmic foyer with a lengthy walkway where souls line up before moving toward a white light. Joe isn't ready for The End, so he runs the other way, falls off the walkway, and ends up in The Great Before, a brightly colorful but nonetheless purgatorial zone.
The objective of the Great Before is to tutor new souls for them to find a "spark" that will propel them to a joyful and fruitful life on our planet. Joe is primarily motivated by a desire to avoid the white light and return to Earth (and play that incredible gig he'd been waiting his whole life for), so he assumes the character of a renowned Swedish psychotherapist and tutors a problem blip known only by her number, 22. 22 is a jaded cynic who has turned down mentorship from some of history's most illustrious characters, including Carl Jung and Abraham Lincoln. Will Joe be able to end the streak and assist her in discovering her true calling? Have you ever watched a Pixar film? of course. In these films, it's mostly about how things happen, not what happens.
"We’re In The Business Of Inspiration, Joe, But It’s Not Often We Find Ourselves Inspired."
The abstract counselors who inhabit the Great Before try their hardest to help every soul, but they have never been able to show 22 the joys of existence for thousands of years.
Joe has accomplished something that none of them could: he has given her the opportunity to experience it for herself. This inspires the Jerrys, and it is what motivates them to give Joe a second opportunity in life.
That said, about midway through the picture, there's a clever comedy twist that livens up "Soul" just when it was starting to drag, and it's best not to give it away here. To summarize, 22 ultimately finds her spark, albeit after a lot of effort and more than a few crazy misadventures; while Joe reexamines his years on earth as a kind but meek instructor and finds them wanting. He didn't make as many friends as he should have, and he was terrified that he had abandoned his childhood dream of being a working jazz musician in favor of more mundane existence. ( Joe's mother, who is not a fan of his music.)
Despite feeling like small Pixar overall, "Soul" will prove to be historically significant because, despite the transformation issue, it's the most unashamedly Black Pixar product ever published, when it's not getting tangled up in funny afterlife shenanigans. Its depiction of jazz is realistic not only in terms of its soundtrack of classic cuts and depiction of performance but also in terms of its larger cultural background.
The best part of living isn't chasing ambition or catching hold of a fleeting dream — it's just living.
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