So, the new Disney Pixar film, SOUL is out! I watched it over the weekend with my family and I have to say that I think it’s fantastic! I love the cast and I love the implications that it has for black representation in film.
I don’t think it could have been told any other way, if I’m honest. Jazz music is one of the many African American contributions to American and Western culture and so it just makes sense to honour African American culture in the film about jazz.
I also love the fact that the main character is a black male teacher. It defies all of the horrible stereotypes about black men being brutish, emotionless and “savage” (even sexually violent, but that’s a discussion for the Restricted Section, I think). It shows him in a nurturing and caring role that you don’t get to see a lot from men in general, let alone black men.
The story itself is great. I love the message about loving life and living every moment of it. It reminds me of Inside Out a lot in how it deals with mental health and shows it in a way that children would understand. It’s definitely as good as Inside Out, in my opinion, too!
It really does lean into African American culture a lot, too. The idea of socialising in the barber’s shop and having such a close-knit family unit. Just the family dynamics in general. Plus, I really like the way they showed the Bronx.
What are your thoughts on it? Have you seen it? Would you like to see it if you haven’t?
I would definitely hard recommend this movie for anyone that comes across it. Really, it just makes you think. The meanings may not come to you in the first time watching, but the ideas and morals Pixar tried to capture in the film were done beautifully. For anyone trying to compare the emotional aspect to Coco or that ending scene, Soul isn’t something that’s going to make you cry in the end, but that doesn’t make the movie less than it is. It’s purely intellectual pleasure and also for exploring said concepts. For that trait, it definitely gives off the vibe that the movie is for an older audience, adults even. I love that Pixar managed to pull something off like that, a simple heartwarming animation that was able to target authentic and complex situations.
On the flip side, there were many moments in the movie where I was on edge hoping the film didn’t go in that direction, and then it luckily didn’t. I’m not sure if that was the filmmakers’ intent to sway that close to the cliche and pull away each time, but that’s probably my only neutral comment on the scene orientation.
Then there is the ending. There is no antagonist or big bad for the movie to point fingers to because it’s a story of real life. The last moments reflect that well and also continue to root the viewers with the hope all these methods and teachings will help them as well.
Aside from that, it’s an awesome movie, and as Shannii explained, brought representation without forcing anything. The messages about life were quality content and I think it could definitely be genre style going forwards; hard concepts broken down for children.
I have only seen half since I was watching with my niece, and half-way through she rather wanted to play a board game. but I like what I seen so far,
I am kinda annoyed because I watched Disney Christmas show and they showed spoilerthat he ended in the cat and 22 in him big spoiler, it would have been so much better to see it in the movie with out have been spoiled first.
Exactly what my family was saying. We watched the movie as a whole and in certain scenes it looked identical to the beginning of Inside out.
Tbh I was a little disappointed with the ending. I wasn’t expecting but hoping for how Joe started to live life. Maybe it was after credit? But the ending was ambiguous which I disliked a lot. Will Joe ever find 22? Can Joe technically birth 22 and be 22’s father? What happened to the small girl who wanted to quit? Joe’s relationship with that girl we didn’t really get to see?
Overall, besides the ending I liked the movie. I like the hair cut scene while we got to here 22 knowledge. I can also pretty much relate with the mom vs son part as well. It was very nicely executed. Terry was a super fun character which should have gotten more screen-time. And I also wish they explain why Terry could be seen in the human world…
Pixar has been just A+ with its representation over the past few years. Disney, Marvel, DC, WB, Netflix, Hulu, basically every megacorporation… take notes.
I watched the movie but it’s not really my type of preferred story Yes, all the points that people mention about representstion etc. are great but I’m just not a fan of the plot. The characters are nice, but the movie didn’t manage to make me feel for them.
@ScreenSloths I’m sure there are many of you who enjoyed that movie! Come share your opinions
This reminds me of Encanto. Everyone is saying how amazing it is and that I should see it, but then I hear the plot and I’m like, ‘That doesn’t sound like my kinda thing’.
Yes, all the points that people mention about representstion etc. are great but I’m just not a fan of the plot. The characters are nice, but the movie didn’t manage to make me feel for them.