Soul is an animated family film directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers. The plot follows a part time teacher/ wannbe jazz musician Joe (Jamie Foxx), as he dies before he has a chance to achieve his dream of performing on stage. Whilst in the afterlife Joe meets 22 (Tina Fey), a young soul who is struggling to find their spark, together the two of them run away back to earth and go on a journey of self-discovery together.
This film almost made me cry, almost. The ending is beautiful and heartfelt, and it really brought Pixar back for me in a big way. Personally, I haven’t really enjoyed a Pixar film since Brave and even a few of the ones before that Ratatouille, Wall-E did nothing for me: I enjoyed a final trip to Toy Story but more for nostalgia then a strong story. However, I am pleased to say that this film bucks that trend and in my mind restores Pixar to its former glory.
I enjoyed seeing the bond develop between Joe and 22, I thought it was a incredibly well realised friendship and touched on the very real experience of what it means to be human. The individual character arcs of Joe and 22 are equally well done, and you are left staggered at the complexity of emotional impact they manage to elicit.
My one complaint would be that the soul world stuff is a bit dull at times, and it tends to drag on: you can’t help but think during these sequences that you would much rather they get back to the Earth storyline.
Overall, a film that resorted my faith not only in Pixar but in the animation genre in general.
Pros.
The emotions
The character journeys
The performances from Foxx and Fey
A return to form for Pixar
Cons.
The soul world plot could and should have been more interesting
4/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 
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