Why Pixar's Soul is worth watching for everyone

One can only be glad that the director returned to work. After all, Docter both in the cartoon "Up" and in the "Puzzle" succeeded in very simple words, but incredibly touching to talk about problems that everyone understands. Soul won an Oscar in the nominations for Best Animated Film and Best Music. The graceful work of Docter will again make you not only think about the meaning of existence, but also remember that everyday life is as much an integral part of life as the pursuit of a dream.

Kind and understandable plot

Joe Gardner dreamed of becoming a jazz pianist since childhood. This is his vocation and the only goal in life. But when he reaches middle age, he only teaches music in high school, where only one student is really interested in the subject.

But one day Joe gets a unique chance: he plays amazingly at the audition for a popular jazz singer, and if the evening concert goes well, the pianist will become a full member of the group. On the way to get his performance costume, Joe falls into a hatch and, on the verge of life and death, finds himself in a world where souls are preparing to be sent to Earth.

Now the hero needs to find a way to return to his body before the concert. At the same time, he is given a ward - soul number 22, which no mentor has yet been able to convince to go to our world. She needs to find that spark that will connect her with her future life.

According to the description, it may seem that the plot is too confusing and overloaded. But the talent of the authors is that they present the story of the world of souls, life and death, the exchange of bodies, the search for a higher meaning, creativity and jazz music very simply and even naively - in the best sense of the word.

In the form of "Soul" - a kind of buddy-movie, a story about two completely different heroes who must deal with problems and find a common language. There aren't even villains in the cartoon. Bureaucrat Terry, who is trying to capture runaway souls, only amuses and does no harm.

Therefore, Soul will surely appeal to young children: for them there are many bright scenes, jokes and a cute cat.

But this is the form. But the content of the cartoon is clearly addressed to adults.

Realistic heroes that are easy to see yourself

The question may arise, what does Joe and 22 have to fight if no one opposes them? I immediately want to answer "with the circumstances", but in fact - with myself. After all, almost all of Docter's cartoons (with the exception of Monsters, Inc.) help the viewer to look inside himself.

In Puzzle, the director tried to figure out the emotions of a teenager - no longer an easy task. And in Soul, he goes even further, introducing heroes, the attitude towards whom will repeatedly change.

After all, at first glance, Joe is a typical positive character in American history. Everyone tells him that he needs to settle down and do serious work, but he does not give in and follows his dream. But looking closely, you can see in Joe not a talented creator, but an infantile overgrown who is trying to shift the blame for his life onto the whole world around him. Moreover, he prefers not to notice the problems of others.

Maybe the cynical 22 turns out to be a more interesting hero? She does not want to follow the rules, criticizes the accepted norms. But behind the ostentatious rudeness and nihilism lies a banal fear: she is always afraid that she is not good enough for any occupation. After all, she was always surrounded by great personalities or those who plan to become such. Of course, against such a background, 22 seems unworthy to itself.

This does not mean that Pete Docter criticizes and humiliates his characters. On the contrary, “Soul” is filled with boundless love for them and a desire to help. And to them and to all spectators. Especially representatives of creative professions.

After all, the plot raises a problem that any musician, writer, actor, and so on faces. The dream of creativity becomes a reality and immediately turns into work. How to live with the knowledge that high art and the flight of the soul is the same usual occupation, like all other professions?

The authors of the cartoon give the most obvious answer to this, which, alas, most people simply forget. You shouldn't voice it, it's better to find it yourself. We can only add that one does not need to wait for death to understand the value of life. And the spark that helps to realize this is not necessarily some kind of higher goal.

Full immersion through details

The elaboration of Pixar cartoons every time causes no less delight than their bold plots. Without realistic wool, the characters of Monsters, Inc. would not look so cute, and without a detailed study of the work of restaurants, Ratatouille would have lost half of the atmosphere.

There are many details in Soul that will help you immerse yourself in the life of the characters, even if the viewer does not notice them. For starters, this is the studio's first cartoon to feature so many black characters, and their appearance is so natural for the first time in animation. Moreover, it is this work that looks like the right example of cultural diversity, which Hollywood rarely succeeds. The problems of the heroes are not related to their race, they do not "cook" in an isolated culture, but simply live. Skin color is just one of the details that complement Joe's image.

We have worked even more subtly with the world where souls live. The authors managed to make the disembodied characters literally palpably soft. Everything here is round, calm, pleasing to the eye, like a child's version of the afterlife from the movie "Where Dreams May Come". The mentors (they are all called Jerry) seem to have come from the canvases of the late Picasso. The unformed souls look the same, but 22 have already acquired their individuality, because they have lived there for too long. And Joe's soul even wears a hat there, and it's incredibly cute.

In contrast to him, the earthly world is always noisy and fussy. Cheaper cartoons always fail the atmosphere due to poor background design. But in Soul, city life itself can be viewed endlessly.

And even all of this might not have worked if it weren't for the soundtrack. The soundtrack of the film was created by incredibly talented people. Oscar-winning Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, already featured in the stunning Monk this year, have come up with background music, mixing the mysticism of the soul world with the hustle and bustle of city life. And John Baptiste, a composer and musician who played with literally all the stars, from Stevie Wonder to Ed Sheeran, was responsible for the jazz parts.

And this is very important. After all, music here, and especially jazz, is not just a background. This is the foundation of the protagonist's entire life. And therefore, during the performances, the movements of the musicians are worked out to the smallest detail. And the feeling of flight and another world that a pianist feels was probably experienced by any creative person.

But most importantly, the cartoon through this music leads to the most important idea: our whole life is the same jazz. Sometimes you can deliver an incredible solo that will captivate all viewers, but often you just have to follow the main theme and accompany others.

Due to the pandemic, "Soul" collected less than expected, but this is definitely not the fault of the authors and the cartoon itself. In any case, it is good that they did not postpone the exit.

Right now "Soul" is very much needed by the audience. In today's world, where many are obsessed with success, the pursuit of a higher goal has become an unattainable fetish. And in 2020, many were literally locked up alone with themselves and instantly lost all desires, getting lost in an endless cycle of everyday life. And they should be reminded of the simple joys of life. The fact that sometimes you need to slow down a little, forget about worries and just look at the sky, listen to a street musician or chat with your hairdresser. And it's better to understand the value of such moments not as a hero - when it was almost too late, but just after watching a funny story.