Disney has amazing movies in its bag including the 2020 movie Soul. Don’t expect less, because Disney never disappoints and the same goes for this movie. Disney Pixar Soul is the first ‘adult’ film by Disney in terms of the subject. It is still an animated movie but the themes it deals with are next level.
You could never imagine a Disney about the existential crisis until now. And it is indeed an adult movie yet it has soft moments. A beautiful way to approach such a dark topic. Even though kids won’t understand it completely, it’s still worth a watch. It’s a Disney movie after all!
The story and themes are thoughtful but they can be confusing too. Especially the ending, raised a lot of questions like “how does that happen?”. Don’t worry, as I’ll try to answer in the best way possible. But before the ending, let’s get familiar with the story and themes better.
Disney Pixar Soul’s Story
Soul, as the name suggests is a story about human souls. But the twist here is that it’s not the afterlife that is addressed in the movie. Rather, a different universe is shown as before life called “Great Before”. The Great Before is a place where souls find their “spark” before they are born as babies.
So the story is about Joe Gardener, who is a Jazz Pianist and is trying to get a gig. At the beginning of the movie Joe bags a great gig for musician Dorothea Williams. Joe is excitedly getting home when a falls down a manhole. And that means he probably died because he is going towards the Great Beyond. But Joe does not wish to die as starts to run away and that’s when he lands up in Great Before.
The Great Before is filled with counselors, funnily all of them are named Jerry. These counselors train unborn souls for Earth. Apart from counselors, there were ‘Mentor Souls’ each with one mentee. And since Joe was mistaken for a Mentor Soul, he is stuck with his mentee, Soul 22.
Apparently, Joe is not dead but hanging by a thread between life and death. The cute little unborn Soul 22 is not really into the being born on earth stuff, she is least concerned. But after learning that Joe is in a coma, she lets him help her find her “spark”. It is a fun ride after that!
Joe returns to earth and is still unfulfilled after achieving his dreams. This makes him wanna revisit 22 and he does. But she sadly becomes a lost soul until Joe reminds her of her time on earth. Joe is given a 2nd chance at life & 22 is ready to be born. A happy ending!
More About The Movie and Cast
So, the movie is confusing but the message is clear. And the message is that life is all about finding a spark and nothing else. Take joe, for example, he got his dream job but was still unhappy, because he lost his spark with Soul 22. Such a beautiful message in a Disney movie and as I said before, it doesn’t disappoint.
It stars Jamie Foxx as Joe Gardener and SNL fame Tina fey as Soul 22. You can not expect anything less with these two actors on board.
The initial release of Disney Pixar’s Soul was on Disney plus Hotstar during the Pandemic which makes sense now. This movie is a breath of fresh air but also relatable.
Disney Pixar Soul’s Ending Explained
So, now that you know the story roughly, let’s dig deeper. In the second half of the movie, Joe and 22 go on Earth but in different bodies. The unborn soul 22, lands up in an adult’s body which is none other than Joe’s. She lives a great life being in Joe’s body and even finds her spark. However, Joe doesn’t agree that she did and scorns her.
Well, it turns out Joe is not happy about his actions with 22. So he wishes to go back. But what got fans confused is how dis Joe go back to Great Before. The answer is his Piano!
Joe completely drowns himself in his music as if meditating just like the souls did to enter The Zone. And just like that, Joe is back in the Great Before to mend his mistakes. And for the great deed that Joe does, he is also given a second chance at life and is back on earth.
The main message of this movie is surreal. It claims that one’s true spark is not in their achievement but in living each day fully. And that is a real message, everyone should just live their lives as it’s unpredictable. If like me, you also love an intense, philosophical but fun movie, watch Soul! Or just watch it because Disney movie never disappoints!
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