Ha ha, get it?! I’m uh… well… I’m saying I don’t have a soul because of uh… let’s just get to the review
*Note: I really wrote A TON for this review because of obvious reasons, so keep in-mind of that if you decide the read the whole thing*
Hey Everyone! First off, Happy New Year Everyone!!! We made it through 2020, HAZAH because *Insert Countless 2020 Jokes Here*. And for today’s review, I’m going to actually be reviewing what has actually been my most anticipated film of the entire year (even before so many of them got delayed) in the form of Pixar’s latest release, Soul! Any long-time readers (if there are any… well that got depressing fast!) should know the drill at this point. But for any readers new to my blog/reviews, allow me to demonstrate what I do for my “plot summaries” via caveman speak: “No talky about plot-o, IMDb Link, GO GO, REVIEW!!!” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2948372/
Well, yeah, as I already mentioned, this film has easily been one of my most anticipated movies of the entire year! Anybody who knows me should know that I know (that’s a whole lot of know’s!) that I ADORE Pixar to my very core. I have been watching their movies for as long as I can remember, so many of them are masterpieces and/or favorites of mine, and they are easily my favorite movie studio of all time! So, you can imagine that even with everything going on, the very rumors (that ended up becoming true) of Soul heading straight to Disney + may or not have made tears well up in my eyes #don’t judge. Still, with the current state of the world, there is really no other way (nor should there have been) to release Soul this year instead of delaying it again because DAMN DOES THE WORLD NEED THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW!!!
Shocker to absolutely no one (except the “I hate fun Cynics Club”), Soul is an absolutely wonderful piece of cinema that keep a smile on my face the entire time I was watching it! Actually, I just gave myself a good segue for the first thing I wanted to talk about here Yay! The visuals and the animation of this film are UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING (no hyperbole included)! Yes, this is the standard for the studio who have literally pushed the boundaries countless times on what could be done with animation, but even with that said, the animation here is ungodly ambitious in more ways in one.
Firstly, and perhaps more obviously to any big Pixar fans over the years, but the segments in the real world are so close to looking like they’re actually from the real world (aside from the character designs of course) it is jaw-dropping… kinda like this!
Alright, in all seriousness, whether it be from the incredibly rich textures rendered onto every single thing, the outstanding lighting system that completely engrosses you into the bright and jazzy elements of this world, or just the color pallets accompanying all of the above all of those elements of the film’s real world by Pixar’s animation really does feel like it IS the real world and not just something from a computer.
But wait, there’s more (always love whenever I can say that) because their animation team went even more ambitious whenever they dove into the soul worlds of the Great Before and Beyond. The way they melded interesting (and new for Pixar in their feature films) 2D animation, the pastel-esc color pallets, and the abstractness of the textures for just about everything here kept my jaw on the floor in what is yet another terrifically animated film from Pixar.
Phew! Well, I think I’ve blabbered on enough about what you could see here; so, I think now is an appropriate time to talk about what you can hear in the film. (OH! Can I get a what what for that segue there?! No… oh, um… ok) Let me just start this part off by saying DEAR GOD THE SOUNDTRACK OF Soul IS AWESOME!!! Weird, right? A movie about a musician with music being a prevalent external theme of the movie has great music blasphemy!
Well alright, it really isn’t that weird, especially since like the animation itself, there’s basically two areas of the music here and both are nothing short of extraordinary. On the one hand, you have Jon Batiste’s jazz compositions that are heard from the characters and outside of them throughout the entire film and yeah, they sounded so good! I might not be an expert on the techniques of jazz, but I know enough to enjoy it when it’s good and Batiste’s jazz renditions at every beat manage to make me in love on a similar level to Joe’s own passion during the movie.
Then, you head on over to the score from Oscar-winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross who really want another gold statue because holy crap! (They also recently did the score for another likely Oscar-contender Mank, so even without having seen that film, they’ve got a REALLY good shot at getting another one this year) Their signature techno flare matches the aesthetics of the Great Before and Beyond perfectly as it perfectly gives it all a beautifully cerebral flare. And when you combine that with the moments where the movie quite literally ponders life, they were able to oh so beautifully capture the emotions that makes most Pixar film require a box of tissues close by.
On top of the music itself, other things you hear in the film are great as well. All of the elements of sound design and editing here were really strong (per usual for Pixar) as they helped to make every world in this film feel just as alive as the music and visuals did. And of course, the voiceover work from the entire cast is obviously outstanding even if people are inevitably going to focus on Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey as the two leads. For good reason though, since Jamie Foxx really was perfect for this role from his dual sense of fun and dramatic weight, as was Tina Fey with her brand of wit mixed an enormous amount of heart.
Above all else, everything I have been gushing out about like the world did when Cap wielded Mjolnir in Avengers: Endgame (Ah… the good old days…), is all in-service to what might possibly be Pixar’s most mature story yet. Seriously, it’s always bothered me whenever people point to animated movies as things that are “”just meant for kids”” (yes I put double quotation marks there, your point?!). But to me, *especially* in the case of Pixar, that could not any further for a film that LITERALLY PONDERS THE MEANING OF LIFE FOR IT’S MAIN THEME! And it never just stays that simple either as they were still able to load this story with so many complex emotions, beautifully nuanced in how they match up perfectly with the grander/philosophical themes they were going for here.
IE, this is a film by Pixar Animation Studios. At this point, I am used to how wonderful the filmmakers over at Pixar are at telling stories that feel as personal as they do broad. Still, it goes without saying that what Pete Docter and Kemp Powers did here as writers (alongside Mike Jones) and directors deserves even more credit than the literal credit they were listed under. Not every filmmaker is able to tell such a loaded story with so much sensitivity, fun, and subtle poignance that it feels like an absolute breeze to watch (even with the tears stained on your cheeks). So again, bravo to Docter and Powers! If it happens, this wouldn’t be the first time a Pixar film got a screenplay nomination at the Oscars; but honestly, I really do wish that they also had a legitimate chance for that directing nomination because what they did here is absolutely extraordinary.
Frankly, even though there’s no such thing as a completely perfect movie, it’s hard for me to even wanna’ talk about any of that stuff for a movie that excels in just about every regard. I guess there is definitely a feeling I felt that the film is definitely at its greatest when its going for those deep, matured-tone segments as opposed to when the movie acts more like a fun and adventurous romp that Pixar has always been able to do well. Again, it’s still weird to mention something like that because the stuff in question is still really well done (on top of being a lot of fun), and *without spoiling anything*, is crucial for the story to work as a whole.
Aside from that and maybe a little bit more insight into the character that Daveed Digs plays Soul is EASILY one of 2020’s best films (wow, it already feels weird not to say “this year”), it’s an absolutely stellar film for all ages (particularly adults with this film) in general, and like so much of Pixar’s work, it will keep its hooks in my heart for a long time!
Rating: 9.5/10 (*For Now*), it is Pixar at their finest and most mature, and I loved it so much!!!
Another day, another fantastic Pixar film under my belt! Like seriously, it only took me two days after I saw this for the first time to watch it again because it really is just that deep thematically, and just great in general. (As is the SparkShort Burrow that released with it on Disney +, which I also recommend highly) Honestly, it’s kinda funny how this is the third new Pixar release in a row that I felt the need to immediately re-watch right after it was done following Toy Story 4 and Onward (which conveniently enough, I have a review written for that on this very blog #plugs for the win… I’ll leave a link for it at the end if anyone’s interested). Well, regardless, for anyone with Disney +, I would highly recommend finding the time to watch Soul at some point, it’s worth it!
Anyway, I think that’s about it for this review folks (because clearly people of my generation use the word ‘folks’ a lot). For anyone who has seen this film, what did you think of it? Where it would rank amongst your best of Pixar, 2020, or both? Feel free to let me know what you think about all that stuff in the comments below. And as always, I think you should know who I am at this point…
I’m Alex, Your Friendly Neighborhood Film Nerd!!!
P.S. Here’s the link for that Onward review I mentioned: https://spinningthecineweb.com/2020/04/10/theyre-taking-their-father-to-bring-him-back-a-review-of-onward/
Spinning the Cineweb 