Joe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn’t quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz – and he’s good. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.
“Soul” is a unique film that makes you understand the gravity of living your entire life and not really feeling like you’re doing your life’s work. Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) lives a somewhat normal life, teaching a Band Class to middle school students. He feels totally indefensible in arguing with those who think he is doing the best he can and should be content with that. When Joe gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play with a group of musicians who belong to the best jazz club in town, he has to deal with the locals and his mother, who cannot envision him doing more than he has or wanting more out of life. Although his services are much needed in the community, he grapples daily with the unfulfilled goals he sees for himself. His mother, normally his greatest supporter, thinks he is risking too much when he decides to follow a different path and risk it all for a chance to realize his dreams.
At the height of stepping into this new opportunity, Joe ends up in an accident that sends him straight from the streets of New York City to a fictional place called “The Great Before.” Inside this new world of developing personalities, he meets up with “22” (Tina Fey), a seemingly lost soul who has yet to figure out her true purpose in life. When Joe tries to show 22 the ropes by identifying her strengths and weaknesses, he finds that there is more to his own soul that needs developing. Joe forms such a great bond with 22 that both end up reassessing their lives while realizing they can find purpose in living for others and giving their all to those who may not know their own worth.
Academy Award-winning director Pete Docter (“Inside Out,” “Up”), along with co-director Kemp Powers, seems to have already figured out the recipes for success in their mixture of animated films, however, they are truly admirable for bringing two beloved stars together to spread the message of hope against all odds. The greatest takeaways in this film are the symbolic intricacies that show the diverse nature of African Americans, and how sometimes their value is underestimated in a world of stereotypical analyses. Even though Disney•Pixar tells the story in full animation, it never derails from the truth that sometimes we ourselves underestimate our own value and impact to the community, and once we overcome our fear of failure, we are much more open to the possibilities of success.
Available on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital March 23rd
