Tonight's Movie: Soul (2020)

The Pixar film SOUL (2020) was originally slated for theatrical release, but Disney made the decision to instead debut it on their Disney+ streaming service due to the 2020 government lockdowns.

Disney has now belatedly released SOUL theatrically. Unfortunately SOUL hasn't done well at the box office this weekend, with estimates coming in at a little over half a million dollars nationally, but I was glad to have the opportunity to enjoy my first viewing of the film on a big screen today.

SOUL concerns Joe (Jamie Foxx), a middle school band teacher who has at long last achieved his dream: He's landed an amazing jazz gig backing saxophonist Dorothea (Angela Bassett) as part of a quartet.

Joe is so excited, running all over town to share the news and get ready...and then he suddenly finds himself in a strange place, apparently headed to the afterlife.

SOUL will resonate will many classic film fans, as it touches on themes from HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941), HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1943), and A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946).

In particular, SOUL borrows the "body swapping" idea from MR. JORDAN -- although Joe's soul ends up inside a cat, rather than a person! -- and it rather copies the staircase from A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is also known by the alternate title (ahem) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN.

SOUL's jazz theme particularly appealed to me, given that my father, who passed away a year ago this month, was a lifelong jazz enthusiast. Combined with the subject matter, that made the film especially touching for me.

I was a little concerned going in that SOUL might strike me as irreligious, but instead I found it akin to the other films mentioned above, pure fantasy.  

I very much liked where SOUL ended up, emphasizing the importance of appreciating the "small things" in daily life. It's something I feel strongly about myself, and I loved seeing that idea expressed on film.

SOUL isn't a perfect movie; for instance, I found the irate character of unborn soul "22" (Tina Fey) more annoying than anything else. That said, I found SOUL to be a worthwhile "mid-range" movie, and in some ways I found the film's subject matter more thoughtful and appealing than some of Pixar's recent films.

There's some beautiful art, a funny cat, and I also liked the music, so all in all it was a pleasant afternoon at the movies.

SOUL is slightly long at 100 minutes; 90 would have been better. It was directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, who cowrote the film with Mike Jones. It was filmed by Matt Aspbury and Ian Megibben.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated PG. It deals with mature themes, such as death and the afterlife, but otherwise it strikes me as fine for interested younger viewers.

SOUL is available on Blu-ray, although oddly the only one I could find at Amazon is from Region 2. A word of caution, be sure to purchase the correct region!

A trailer is here.

Disney has also announced theatrical runs for the Disney+ films TURNING RED (2022) on February 9th and LUCA (2021) on March 22nd, although given SOUL's lack of performance at the box office, I wouldn't be surprised if the plans change. If the releases go forward, I hope to see LUCA in a theater this spring.

Tweet