[Warning! This article covers minor plot details about Pixar’s movie, Soul. If you wish to experience this movie without any beforehand knowledge, this is not the article for you.]

Soul: A new Disney Pixar film directed by Pete Doctor and Kemp Powers, co-director.  A world has been created unlike any we have seen before, tackling big questions about what it means to be alive. Pixar’s first African-American protagonist is introduced in the new film. Joe Gardner, played by Jamie Foxx, is a middle school band teacher who dreams of becoming a musician to fulfill his life-long ambition. Thanks to his friend Curly (Questlove), Joe finally gets the opportunity to perform with the legend Dorthea Williams  (Angela Bassett) at New York’s finest jazz club. Unfortunately for Joe, he falls into an open manhole, dies, and finds himself on the Great Beyond, a cosmic elevator. Joe is not ready to give up yet, and he manages to escape to The Great Before, a fantastic realm where every soul gets their personalities before they go to Earth. Joe teams up with soul 22 (Tina Fey) who has no desire to be sent to Earth. They make an agreement on what they hope will be their mutual advantage, but rather, they find themselves questioning their own lives too; and they might just discover the answer to some of life’s biggest questions. 

 In an interview with Pete Doctor, Doctor reveals how he was able to bring big ideas to life in a friendly way. He said, “you have all this deep, heady stuff, which is not going to be appealing to kids unless you can make it fun, The key to this is making the design colorful and fun to look at.” And that is exactly what he did.

Disney and Pixar’s movie, Soul, was released on Disney+ due to COVID-19. Many have tuned in to watch the new film. Mariela Miguel, a senior at HBHS, said, “ I recently watched the film over winter break and I thought it was a super cute movie, it was very different from Pixar’s previous films and it brought a light to ideas that aren’t really discussed.” Miguel also noted that it made her “realize the importance of appreciating the moments of life, as that is what makes life truly worth living.” 

Melissa Yaneth, a huge fanatic of Disney movies, said, “I really enjoyed watching this movie because it was something different that Disney has never done before. From all of the Disney movies that I have watched, this is my top favorite.” Yaneth also added that she “would definitely recommend this movie” and to especially watch the movie with “your family and friends because it is quite sad but also makes you laugh.”

“It made me question my own life and be more appreciative of it,” Yaneth said.

With a movie like Soul realizing during a surreal time, the new film has brought so many questions about the meaning of life. According to Doctor, the purpose of creating this film was “to hope that the film kind of allowed people to wake up a little bit, and recognize the amazing things and the gifts that they have all around them.”

This film has brought big questions to the table. It has brought questions to life that are not often discussed. Take some time to watch the new film, you may even find yourself questioning your own life.