Soul Fulfilling

Wonder Woman 1984 seemed to be the more talked-about movie released to a streaming service on Christmas Day... but the movie I was most eager to see was the newest from Pixar, Soul. This was despite not actually knowing too much about what the movie really was. Pixar has only had a couple of true stinkers, so I was ready to sign up for whatever they had in store for me next.

What they had was the story of Joe Gardner, an aspiring musician trying to get back to Earth from the afterlife for his big break. The way to do it runs through "22," a malcontent soul Joe needs to reform in order to secure his route home. The two of them soon become more entwined than either would have wanted.

It's not unusual for a good Pixar movie to have a carefully constructed script that binds character and narrative together in essential ways while expertly pulling on the heartstrings. But to me, there was an extra "degree of difficulty" here for two key reasons. One was the way music is so deeply integrated into the story -- and that being jazz, specifically. Blending this inherently non-narrative music with the story, while making the most of both the visuals and the sound was no easy feat.

Second, and more significant, is that this is Pixar's first film to feature a black lead character. That's been far too long coming -- and perhaps exactly for that reason, there was potential for them to mess it up. My own perspective on those results is clearly not as important as how people finally being represented in a Pixar movie feel. But for what it's worth, I think Soul does a great job showing universal human truths while not shying away from specific cultural touchstones.

Pixar movies are always a visual treat, but Soul is especially great in this regard. I don't just mean the backgrounds, as beautiful and huge in scope as they are; the character designs are particularly impressive. The human characters are delicately expressive, particularly Joe's mother Libba and jazz musician Dorothea Williams (whose resting state of casual disdain is just perfect). The more fantastical characters are clever too, especially "soul counter" Terry, whose odd visual style clashes and blends perfectly all at the same time.

The voice cast is outstanding too, with leads Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey making an unlikely but effective comic team. They're as well paired as Woody and Buzz, Marlin and Dory, Mike and Sully, or any other classic Pixar duo you've loved. But the supporting characters are even better. Phylicia Rashad and Angela Bassett are the voices behind Libba and Dorothea, and their performances are as commanding as their characters' visual design. Meanwhile, Graham Norton is a fun and silly bit of frosting as the quirky Moonwind.

I was also quite taken with the film's music, an unusual blend of jazz arranged by Jon Batiste and stripped-down electronica by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. There are multiple moments in the movie where one style flows into the other quite seamlessly; I've heard a few say that this didn't work for them, but I found it very effective.

If I had one knock on Soul, it's that it is rather predictable -- and I mean that even by Pixar movie standards, movies that are often fairly predictable. Still, I enjoyed every minute of it. I give Soul an A-. The list of 2020 movies I've seen is shorter than usual (a topic I'll get to soon enough), but for the moment at least, Soul sits on top.