👽 Soul
A Disney Movie
BackStory:
I haven't watched many animated movies, as I was under the impression that they are meant for kids but having watched Soul, I will have to say that the animation may be directed at a younger audience but in my opinion, this movie will have a remarkable and a life-changing impact on audiences of all ages. I felt that topics like passion, purpose and the meaning of life weren't usually addressed in animated films, but this Oscar-nominated movie Soul tackles them very well. Soul addresses life, death, and the afterlife. This movie will challenge conventional notions of success and failure.
The Plot:
Coming on to the story now, the protagonist in the film, Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), is an African-American jazz teacher from New York who has huge hopes and dreams. The story is about what makes life meaningful and what makes us who we are. Joe Gardner feels unfulfilled since his dream is to be a full-time jazz musician, but he is a middle school band instructor. He learns of an opening in the band of a jazz legend Joe idolises when he's offered a full-time teaching post, but then he faces a more significant problem as his parents are against it. Nonetheless, he went to the auditions and, to his surprise, is hired for a job in the band, which he believes will be the start of his ideal life. When he gets a breakthrough like that, while his mother was insisting on backup plans and real careers, Joe knows no bounds, and he says, "I will die a happy man if I could play with Dorothea Williams". This comment of his turns more literal than he would have liked. He's so excited that his dream came true; he pays no attention to where he's walking and falls right into an open maintenance hole. He's transported out of his body onto a conveyor belt to the Great Beyond. But he refuses to die as he believes that his life has just started. So he runs in the opposite direction; falls off the conveyor belt, into the land of the Great Before, where his body is in between life and death. Through a series of adventures and mishaps, finally, Joe Gardner realises the importance of life and its true essence.
This movie also tells us that before babies are born, their souls have to find a spark, a characteristic attribute that will determine who they grow up to be, to be allowed passageway down to Earth. Until then, several famous mentors (from Abraham Lincoln to Muhammad Ali) are happy to help them realise their true calling in life. The film is trying to convey that everyone is born with a spark, something unique, and everyone's life is imperative.
Reasons why I liked it:
In Pixar, we haven’t had a chance to see many movies from a regular human’s perspective. It was always cars, toys and monsters, to robots and dinosaurs, but in this movie, Joe Gardner is a highly relatable protagonist. He is an ordinary man with very ordinary problems.
Joe and 22’s unconventional friendship is proof that opposites do attract. When they swap bodies on Earth, they can finally see things from each other’s point of view, which proves to be life-changing for both of them. Through Joe, 22 learns what it feels like to be alive, and through 22, Joe learns that there is much more to life than constantly chasing after the next accomplishment.
All age groups will take something away from this film. Most of us will go on an emotional rollercoaster while watching Soul, and it doesn't necessarily end when the film does. It is improbable that younger audiences will have the same Earth-shattering experience. Still, they will appreciate the animations, the humour, and the Pixar universe that we all know and love. There's truly something for everyone.
Opens up a discussion about the true meaning of life. Our society's idea of life is to have success and that our lives are only meaningful if we have achieved something. Even after Joe achieves his life goal and performs with his idol at a jazz club, he still isn't satisfied. He then realises that he spent his entire life chasing after an unfulfilling dream rather than nurturing his relationships and appreciating the beautiful moments in his day-to-day life.
Watching 22 find pure joy in the more minor things in life during her time on Earth, from a falling leaf to watching a busker perform, really makes you want to run outside, stop, and feel nature.
Existential Crisis of 22 is very relatable. 22 is an unborn soul that is avoiding life on Earth at all costs. Apart from 22's witty comebacks, through out the film, we learn that her apprehension to 'live' is nothing but a reflection of her insecurities. These fears have kept her in the Great Before for centuries and have prevented her from living her best life. She is just worried that she isn't good at anything and feels that the entire point of her existence is useless.
Important Life Lessons To Learn
Your spark isn't your purpose.
Personally, I have always believed that the unique talent which I possess is the purpose of my life and the reason for my existence on this planet. Having watched this movie, it makes me realise that it's nothing but intense pressure on yourself. Yes, each one of us have unique talents and skills that we get to discover in our lives, but that isn't our reason for living. Our purpose is to live. Your life makes use of the spark to live, but everyone's life has meaning no matter how rich or famous or successful they are. What is your purpose? That's for you to answer. It is enough for a person to enjoy the beauty of life and the blessings we have, regardless of wealth, fame, or success in the conventional sense.
For any film to make you re-evaluate your outlook on life and potentially change your view of the world is pretty spectacular.
In an interview, Director Pete Doctor said that the movie's main motive was to convey the message that, just by being alive, we are valued. We are already enough. We all deserve to enjoy what life has to offer. All you have to do is open your eyes and look around.
Enjoy the little things in your life.
After performing on stage, which Joe had waited for throughout his life, he asks, “what now?”. Dorothea Williams tells him the story about a small fish swimming up to a bigger fish and asks where the ocean is. The big fish explains that this is the ocean to which the small fish says, “no, this is just water, I want the ocean!”. Sometimes we don’t recognise the value of our surroundings just because we are so caught up in trying to reach a destination. We need to learn to appreciate the joy in the journey and feel grateful for where we already are.
This movie reminds me of the quote by the fascinating poet by the name of Rumi, born in the 13th century in Afghanistan, who says, "Every mortal will eventually taste death, but only some of them will taste life". This is so true; every day, we should ask ourselves, 'Are we living life, or are we just getting closer to death.’
Accept Change
In the movie, the barber, Dez, dreamed of being a veterinarian, but after his son's illness, the barber school was the least expensive, and after that, he found his passion for it and proved his skill. Things don't always go as planned; he adapted and had a great life that he appreciates and acquired a new talent on his journey.
The concept of lost souls
It's so easy to become a lost soul. In the movie, we saw that people who had become lost souls from either being trapped in their monotonous jobs or becoming overly obsessed with something they love are both the same. "Some people can't let go of their anxieties and obsessions, leaving them lost and disconnected from life." Getting into the zone is a beautiful thing, but "the lost souls" really aren't that different when they become overly obsessed. The lesson here? Keeping track of where we invest our time and ensuring we don't let it disconnect us from every other part of our lives and not get too attached to anything.
Support those people who need you
Like the girl in Joe's class who plays the trumpet in the classroom, she constantly needed Joe's support more than anything so that she doesn’t quit music. She always thought that it wasn't her thing and she is not good at it, but Joe made her realise that she was going into the zone every time she played the trumpet.
Neither spread hate nor be influenced by negative words.
The most straightforward words can affect us significantly. We should choose our words with utmost care because we never know what will hurt whom. In this movie, 22 was influenced by negativity and started having self-doubt, which is more dangerous than anything and we can see what happens to her to the end of the movie.
Soul will give you a newfound appreciation for life.
If you are looking for a movie with some sort of a life lesson, then this movie has a ton of them. If there's one thing to take away from Soul: We have to live in the moment, be present, and find the beauty in simply being alive, and I feel that it is a pretty damn good life lesson. Because when Joe finally does get his dream job of playing the piano, life is precisely the same as it was before he had that job. Finally, Joe realises that a "spark" is not about having a single purpose; it's about enjoying regular old living.
When you identify what you are good at, what you love, your wiring, qualities, skills, values, abilities and you use that to make a difference in the lives of other people, that's when your are going to feel more fulfilled ~ Jay Shetty.
Time is passing by and there will be that one day for all of us when we might look back on our life with regret and this is a genuine fear for many of us, and watching this journey through Joe is genuinely heartbreaking. So to conclude, if at any point you need to feel something, this is the movie for you.