Soul

Available on Disney +.

Written and directed by Pete Docter, Kemp Powers and Mike Jones we have Pixar’s latest, Soul. Jamie Foxx plays Joe, a frustrated musician, who has settled on been a middle school music teacher to make ends meet as he chases his big chance. When his big chance comes he finds it taken from him in an untimely accident, but Joe isn’t ready to give up, so rather than his soul heading to the great beyond, he finds himself in the great before as a mentor to new souls. It’s here he is paired with troublesome soul 22 (Tina Fey) to help her find her spark, the thing that will make this soul ready to live, the problem is 22 doesn’t want to and is happy with the life in the great before. All of this while Joe tries to find a way of getting his soul back into his body.

What Pixar do, at their best, is take on complex topics and package them in engaging stories that hit home for children and adults alike and Soul joins that fine history of original and touching animation.

Soul sets out to answer perhaps the biggest of questions “why are we here?” as Joe tries to help 22 find a purpose, a reason to live. It tackles that in a way only animation can, immersing us in the strangest of worlds, the real world is brilliantly created and as you’d expect from Pixar, a natural recreation of New York City the people and place, is of the highest quality. Alongside this we get the strange existential great before, with its brilliantly crazy Picasso inspired bosses guiding the small amorphous blobs that are the undeveloped souls, with just enough features to provide a personality and warmth.

Soul is a beautiful piece of work, it looks incredible, it is full of warmth and humour and as the very best animations do, especially Pixar, it treats its audience as intelligent enough to understand the complexities of its topic, as it reminds us of the wonder to be found in the smallest of things and how we often will miss them in pursuit of a great purpose, losing sight of the joy of life itself.

A strong voice cast that sees Foxx and Fey well supported by an eclectic group including the likes of Richard Ayeode, Graham Norton and Rachel House, gorgeous animation and a fine Jazz inspired soundtrack, all come together to take on its complex question with the warmth, wit and heart that Pixar do so well and show us the only way to know if life is worth living, is to live it.