Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, Angela Bassett, Cora Champommier, Margo Hall, Daveed Diggs, Rhodessa Jones, Wes Studi, Sakina Jaffrey, Fortune Feinster, Calum Grant, Laura Mooney, Peggy Flood, Zenobia Schroff, June Squibb, Ochuwa Oghie, Jennie Tirado, Cathy Cavadini, Dorian Lockett, Doris Burke, Ronnie Del Carmen, Esther Chae, Elisapie Isaac, Marcus Shelby, Jason Pace.
We are only human after all, but thanks to the genius work of animation studio Pixar, we may come to understand the psychology of our species in a way that no therapist would be able to impart without it seeming to be one condescension or pandering to the supposed child within.
Childhood though is where we learn the most about ourselves, and as adults we often forget what has shaped us, given us the insecurities, installed the fear, given us the opportunity to grow and which moment has made us accept that we are on a path of individuality surrounded by the Soul of others who seek to embrace life in all its form of excitement and mundanity.
Becoming bogged down in the chase of the dream is to let the small things pass us by, building a castle in the sky, however noble the intention, will often make us neglect the smell of a rose, make us careless in providing inspiration to those coming up behind us, the children we once were before ambition and society consumed us.
Following in the mighty footsteps of Pixar’s huge hit Inside Out maybe tough, but a film about the emotional connection to life, which can be seen throughout the studio’s output, was always going to draw inspiration from what is inside the human search for meaning when it comes to the Soul. Whilst such a notion is often derided in mainstream cinema, or even in society where the thought of being bigger than the sum of the apparent whole is considered pandering to the ideals of the hippie persuasion, to connect in the same beautiful fashion as the 2015 classic is to be aware of the responsibility the studio has created for itself and for the viewers to take seriously what is within us and to nurture it fully.
The film, the first by Pixar to place as a lead a member of the African American community, is a joyous affair, but one that like Inside Out is mindful of the way it portrays emotions, giving both the younger audience and older watchers a point of connection, the chance to bring out into the open the concept of death and its meaning to faith, to what is left behind.
There will be those who argue that the concept of death has no place in what is considered a film for a certain age and mind, this is narrow thinking, by introducing death as an inevitability rather than something to be afraid of, we might be able to move on from the religious dogma that has cast into the shadow of doubt for centuries.
Our souls are important, our emotions, our connections to each other even more so, and with tremendous vocal performances by Jamie Foxx as Joe, Tina Fey as 22 and Rachel House as the Accountant, Soul is as important to the canon of Pixar as Inside Out, the Toy Story franchise and WALL-E; and just as vital to the audience who invest in them.
Ian D. Hall