I don't know what it is about Pete Doctor Pixar films, but they don't appeal to me nearly as much to me as they do to other people.

Like, saying it's bad would be foolish, it's too well made for that.
The animation is top notch, as are the cinematography, colour grading and score.
Also, I praise Pete's ability gift for taking abstract ideas and making them concrete and fun.
Most of it is presented in a weird and artsy way, which is always risky for a film of this caliber (and I praise him all the more for it).

However, just like with _Inside Out_, I thought this was overall just fine, and mostly massively overhyped.
First of all, the set up of the film feels really rushed.
They push through a massive amount of concepts in the first act, and none of them are given any time to breathe.
The second act is ... occasionally funny, but reminiscent of many, many things I've seen before. I've seen [spoiler] body swap movies (e.g. Jumanji and its sequels) [/spoiler] and [spoiler] movies about extraordinary characters discovering earth (e.g. Elf, and frankly a ton of other films) [/spoiler].
There are some emotional moments in the third act, but they feel neutered because you know where everything is going at this point.
Also, I’m not going to call the movie ‘profound’ because there is a bit of subtext in it.

6.5/10

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

Soul is a fantastic movie. This was one of my most anticipated films of the year and after reading an abundance of overly positive reviews I started to build very high expectations. For the first time this year all of my expectations were met and some even exceeded. I had forgotten about how undescribable the feeling of watching a truly fantastic Pixar film could be, watching this all the more confirmed that Pixar is undoubtedly my favorite studio in the business. The plot is great it’s an unpredictable and extremely original story. It’s a story that questions every aspect of life while also reassuring the beauty of living life to the fullest. The story is full of unpredictable plot points that creates a engagingly fun tone. There is a few minor flaws with the story the most notable one being that there is a couple negligible plot holes.

The pacing is great since it’s such an incredibly fun story there isn’t a single slow or uninteresting moment. The voice acting is fantastic from Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey. I was hesitant at first about how their voices would fit with the characters but I was surprised at how well their voices fit with the personality of Joe Gardener and 22. Both characters are very well crafted characters that will most likely grow to become some of the most memorable Pixar characters. Moonwind, Terry, and the multiple Jerry’s are great supporting characters as well.

The direction is fantastic from Pete Doctor and Kemp Powers, both men are some of the most promising men in Hollywood and through their directorial choices it’s obvious that they wanted to make this film like nothing that had been made before. When it comes to directors of animated films it doesn’t get much better than Pete Doctor. It’s hard to believe that he has never been nominated for Best Director at any of the major awards. The script is fantastic it’s an intelligent and very well layered script full of beautiful pieces of dialogue. The animation is phenomenal it’s realistic animation while also displaying cartoonish looking characters.

The score is great it’s a simplistic and memorable score. The humor is fantastic this film is full of hilarious jokes, gags, and one liners. From watching the trailers the main thing I was worried about was that the humor would be dry but I was honestly surprised at how many times I was laughing. What always impresses me with (most) Pixar films is that they near perfectly balance genuinely hilarious humor and intense yet soft emotion. In terms of the Oscars I feel this film will definitely win Best Animated Feature and possibly (hopefully) get a nomination for Best Picture. Also I could definitely see this film getting a nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score. The ending is a completely satisfying ending that leaves you to infer what happens next with the characters. Overall Soul is an extraordinarily emotional and incredibly well made film that will truly be considered an animated classic in the future.

(9 out of 10)

Soul is a much more effective film than Pixars recent output. The exposition dump thats far too familiar in Inside Out and Coco is more effectivly spread across the films first act, and interwoven organically into the narrative. That alone gave this an air of prestige above Pixars last five or so movies. It's unfortunate that that skill doesn't extend into the films closing act, as last-minute rule changing tears immersion apart, much like Lukes force ghost in The Last Jedi did. Specifically, [spoiler]Joe takes a MacGuffin back into the soul realm. How this is made possible isn't bookmarked at all earlier in the film. The logic halted the films momentum for me. There are a handful of simular rule breaks, but this one in particular is the most significant for me.[/spoiler]

For most of the film, I was immersed and engaged, and teared up in places... but the occasional lump in the creative process prevented me from fully connecting with the narrative.

Regardless though, I believe this to be my favourite Pixar film in the last 10-20 years.

EDIT: [spoiler]Egh, this technically is bookmarked near the start of the film, as 'souls' are seen to bring items they resonate with with them when they're "in the zone". Maybe they didn't highlight this clearly enough, or maybe the intensity of that particular info dump was too dense to properly consume. In my opinion, the information dropped during that scene should have been spread out a bit more.[/spoiler]

Before explaining why I liked this movie, I'd like to point out that the main idea of the movie is *NOT* that you need find your purpose to have a happy life. It's the exact opposite! I'm not saying this just to be a professor, but because it's really important and that's why I loved the film so much. You don't need to be fixated about something to find a meaning in your life. You need to savour it and learn to enjoy the little moments instead of waiting for something big to happen to reach happiness. It's so profound and refreshing. A movie just about a guy waiting for his big moment and feeling fulfilled after having reached it would have been dull, boring, trite and most of all wrong, like pretty much all "self-help" advices.
Instead the opposite idea is presented and if you just pay attention to the dialogues -and the story, really- you'll understand what I mean and most importantly what you might apply to make your everyday life better.
But back to the movie I've got to say I almost cried as the end was approaching as much as I was going to turn off the tv when the movie started. The whole initial setting reminded me too much of Inside Out, a film I quite disliked, so I was worried it was a copy of it (it kind of is in the beginning). But luckily the second half steered away from it and developed in one of the most moving film I've seen in a long time. Undoubtedly one of Pixar's best.

I watched a cartoon with children. Kind and deep cartoon. I liked the humor, especially when the hero's soul moved into the cat. I recommend it for family viewing