Christmas day, Pixar released ‘Soul’, the animated movie delves deep into one’s purpose in life, leaving audiences searching for their spark.
In ‘Soul’, 45-year-old band teacher Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) is an aspiring jazz pianist. After landing a band audition with legendary jazz saxophonist Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett), Gardner experiences a fatal accident. He soon finds himself in the “Great Before”, a place where soul counselors prepare unborn souls for life on earth. Gardner becomes a mentor to a young soul, No. 22 (Tina Fey) who refuses to live. Desperate to get back into his body, Joe drags No.22 along on his journey between the realms of life and death. It’s during this journey they both learn the true meaning of life.
Award-winning director Pete Docter often uses his films to address life’s biggest questions, from coping with loss in “Up” to defining the essential memories that make us who we are in “Inside Out.” Docter’s new film Soul is challenging its audience to appreciate the little things.
“I’m aware daily of how much I miss,” Docter tells the Washington Post. “The idea of just stopping and valuing what you have, of feeling the breeze in your face– that’s what life is about.”
“I hope that the film kind of allows people to wake up a little bit,” Docter adds. “And recognize the amazing things and the gifts that they have all around them.”
Many viewers took to Twitter to reflect on the lessons they learned from the animated film.
It took a Disney Pixar movie for me to realize I need to stop applying so much pressure on myself. #Soul #Purpose
— E Graham (@e_darcell) December 26, 2020
The so called “spark” is not your passion about something, but rather the ability to live in the present moment, we were all born with it, but most of us lost it somehow later on in life. The creator of this movie must have gotten some inspiration from Buddhism. #SoulPixar pic.twitter.com/u0hpFNEAxb
— 数字游民Jarod (@jarodise) December 27, 2020
Soul is currently available to stream on Disney+.