Soul (2020)

Every so often, an animated film arrives that speaks just as loudly to adults as it does to children. Soul, Pixar's 2020 release directed by Pete Docter, is that kind of movie. Blending jazz, New York City texture, and a genuinely cosmic premise, it asks a deceptively simple question: what makes a life worth living? The answer it arrives at is warm, funny, and quietly profound.

What Soul Is About (No Spoilers)

Joe Gardner is a middle school band teacher with a lifelong dream of playing jazz professionally. When a big break finally seems within reach, an unexpected accident separates his soul from his body and sends him to the You Seminar, a otherworldly center where new souls develop personalities and passions before being sent to Earth.

To get back to his life, Joe needs help from the souls-in-training around him, most notably 22, a soul who has resisted finding a purpose for what feels like eons. Their odd-couple partnership drives the film through realms both celestial and decidedly earthly.

The tagline says it plainly: everybody has a soul, and Joe Gardner is about to find his. What that discovery means is where the movie finds its heart, and the film keeps its biggest revelations off the table until you're watching.

A Voice Cast That Earns the Music

Jamie Foxx anchors the film as Joe, giving the character a grounded, lived-in warmth that makes his midlife frustrations feel real. Tina Fey is a delight as 22, bringng comic chaos and unexpected vulnerability to a soul who wants nothing to do with Earth.

The supporting lineup is stacked. Angela Bassett brings authority to Dorothea, a jazz musician Joe idolizes. Phylicia Rashād plays Joe's mother, Libba, while Graham Norton, Richard Ayoade, Alice Braga, and Rachel House voice figures Joe meets in the cosmic realm. Real-world jazz figures appear too, with Questlove as Curly and Donnell Rawlings as Dez.

Each performance fits the film's tone: conversational, quick-witted, never showy. It's the kind of casting where a familiar voice lands like a wink without pulling focus from the story.

Pete Docter and the Pixar Machine

Director Pete Docter, the guiding hand behind some of Pixar's most emotionally ambitious work, co-wrote the screenplay with Mike Jones and Kemp Powers, who also shares story credit. Dana Murray produced, with Dan Scanlon and Kiri Hart serving as executive producers.

Visually, the film splits its world in two. New York is rendered with a nostalgic, richly detailed vibrancy, while the You Seminar leans into abstract, graphic shapes that feel closer to mid-century design than typical computer animation. Directors of photography Matt Aspbury and Ian Megibben and editor Kevin Nolting help give both worlds a confident, cinematic rhythm.

The score is a genuine event. Jon Batiste composed the jazz material, while Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross handled the ethereal side, and the contrast between the two musical languages mirrors the film's two worlds beautifully.

Themes, Tone, and Style

Soul is a movie about purpose, but crucially, it argues against treating purpose as a single grand achievement. Its interests run toward the small stuff: a slice of pizza, sunlight through leaves, the feel of a subway platform underfoot. The tone balances melancholy with genuine comedy, never tipping fully into either.

Classified as animation, family, fantasy, drama, and music, it wears all those hats at once. Kids connect with the humor and color; adults may find themselves unexpectedly reflective by the end. The pacing runs a brisk 101 minutes, with a nostalgic, questioning mood threaded throughout.

Jazz isn't just a subject here, it's a structural principle. Improvisation, listening, and presence, the values of the music, become the values of the film itself.

Who Should Watch It

Families with older children will find plenty to enjoy, though the film's existential subject matter may land differently for younger viewers than for parents. Anyone who has ever wondered whether they chose the right path in life is squarely in the target audience.

Music lovers, particularly jazz fans, get a film that treats the genre with real affection and specificity. And viewers who appreciated Pixar's more contemplative entries will find this among the studio's most adult-minded work, even as it remains fully accessible to kids.

Where to Watch Soul

In the US, Soul is available to stream on Hulu and Disney Plus. For viewers who prefer to rent or own, digital purchase options include the Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, and YouTube, with rentals available through the Apple TV Store and Fandango At Home.

If You Liked Soul, Watch These Next

Viewers drawn to the film's blend of the cosmic and the personal may enjoy other Pixar works by the same creative family, particularly Docter's earlier films, which share his fascination with big questions wrapped in accessible stories.

Fans of the jazz setting might seek out live-action music dramas and documentaries about New York's club scene, while those who responded to the soul-journey premise can find kindred spirits in other animated fantasies that treat life and death with curiosity rather than fear. Films about self-discovery, artistic calling, and second chances all make natural follow-up viewing.