“Soul” Warms the Soul

Set in New York City, the Pixar drama animation film “Soul”, which was released in November, has continued to increase in popularity because of the depth the film holds. The story is centered around the central idea of  the true meaning of life and finding one’s purpose. The protagonist in the film is Joe Gardner, voiced by Jamie Foxx; his passion or “spark” in life is jazz music. He starts off with his career as a middle school band teacher but has always had higher hopes for his future and had the talent needed for this. His big break is right at his reach when he lands his big performance with a famous saxophone player; then his life suddenly takes a turn.

     This change leads to him going to this new world full of “souls,” where souls are called before humans are born. They cannot go to earth until they find their purpose, or “spark.” Joe is determined to go back to his normal life for his big break, and discovers a way to be partnered with a soul, named Soul 22. The movie takes you along their magical and inspiring journey of self-discovery and the search for the true purpose of life.

     Although the content of this movie may be hard for a younger demographic to fully grasp, I do believe that this movie is one to watch with any age group.   Young or old, there is something to enjoy while watching and something to be learned from the themes developed. This is an animated film that teenagers can enjoy. In life, even my own, it feels like every decision we make is going to directly affect our future; what college you go to, and what you want to do for the rest of your life. You feel as if you need to find that one thing that you hold on to and that’s your one spark in life. This movie shows how you may not just have one purpose, and it’s okay to not know what that is. There is always this pressure to figure out what you want to do in life, as shown with the character Soul 22 in the film, but sometimes we may have an idea of what our purpose has to be; being a doctor, teacher, etc., when we can truly create a passion and purpose for yourself out of anything.