"Soul"

 

We watched the new Disney-Pixar movie "Soul" last night.  As always, you are amazed at the technical wizardry that is the Pixar animation process.  It seems to get better with each movie that they release, and there were times when watching this one that I actually forgot that this was a cartoon (except when that cat talked; then you knew these weren't actual humans up there on screen).

Joe, voiced by Jamie Foxx, is a middle school music teacher who longs to be a jazz musician playing real gigs in real clubs with other like musicians. Just when he gets his chance, he steps into an open manhole cover and dies.  Or does he?  Through strange only-in-movies circumstances, Joe does not go to the After Life, but ends up in the Before Life where unformed souls reside before being sent to earth to inhabit human forms.

Again, it's easy to follow as you watch, but too complicated to explain here.  Joe, along with "Number 22" (Tina Fey), gets sent back to earth, and there they learn all about life, dreams, and what is really important.

Like most Pixar movies, there is cute and funny stuff for the kids to laugh about, and other stuff that will go over the heads of the kiddies, but can hit home for adults.  A couple of great lines:

22 to Joe: Don't worry, they're fine. You can't crush a soul here. That's what life on Earth is for.

Moonwind: You know, lost souls are not that different from those in the zone. The zone is enjoyable, but when that joy becomes an obsession, one becomes disconnected from life.

Joe: Life is full of possibilities. You just need to know where to look. Don't miss out on the joys of life.

You get the idea.

I liked the movie, and right now, I rate it at Two and One-Half Stars.  However, I would like to see it again, because I think that further viewings will cause this one to jump at least another half a star, to maybe even a full one.  

I recommend it.