Pixar’s latest animated movie, Soul, has been out for barely more than a week now, and I’ve already seen it twice. It’s exactly the kind of movie we need right now, and possibly the most enjoyable allegory I’ve ever seen. Here’s why I think it’s exactly the movie we need as we kick off 2021.

Synopsis

The movie stars Jamie Foxx as jazz pianist and high school music teacher Joe Gardner, and Tina Fey as Soul #22, a soul destined for Earth but determined not to go. After landing the gig of a lifetime, a series of unfortunate events lands Joe’s soul in the Great Before, a place where souls are given their personalities before heading to Earth. Mistaken for a mentor, Joe is paired up with the feisty #22, and charged with preparing her for the world of the living.

What follows is the most beautiful series of life lessons and depictions I have ever seen in an animated movie. Light spoilers alert!

The Lessons

Soul is chock-full of powerful lessons – lessons that, to be honest, are probably better-suited to adults than to kids watching the movie. There are some dark moments within the movie, and themes which are a bit esoteric for kids to wrap their heads around, which is why this is one of the few Pixar movies I’ve seen that is rated PG.

The Flow State, a.k.a. “The Zone”

If you have a passion, then you probably already know what this term means. If not, it’s going to be a little hard to describe… which is why I love the way the movie did it. Sometimes, when you’re doing something that you really love to do, you lose track of time. In fact, you lose track of everything around you, becoming completely immersed in what you’re working on.

That’s the flow state. Sometimes we call it “being in the zone.” We first see this depicted in the movie as Joe sits down to audition for a jazz band. The floor is turned over to him to solo, at which point he completely loses himself in the music. The rest of the band, and the club in which he plays, fade into the background, and it’s just him and the piano, floating in what appears to be another dimension… another headspace.

When Joe describes this to #22, she comes to the conclusion that only artists can enter this flow state. Joe corrects her, stating that anyone with a passion can do it – whether that passion is music, painting, running, basketball, or something entirely different.

Everyone’s got a spark within them.

According to the movie, each soul has at least one spark – something they are especially good at, passionate about, or interested in. Discovering that spark is a key part of a soul getting prepared to begin life on Earth.

It’s interesting to think about: the fact that, somewhere, deep inside each of us, is a spark we may or may not know we have. For those of us that don’t know what it is, it suggests that, maybe, we just need to experiment and gain more life experiences to figure it out.

What I appreciate about Soul, however, is that it doesn’t press this concept too hard. It never once implies that you have to find your spark to enjoy living, which brings me to my next point.

Spark and purpose are not the same thing.

Soul #22 mistakenly believes that, without a spark, she has no purpose, and the movie very strongly corrects that notion. I won’t get into the details of how, but it quickly becomes clear to both Joe and #22 that a spark and a purpose are two very different things.

This is an important distinction, because without it, it could lead some folks to the conclusion that, without a spark, life isn’t worth living. And that’s the total opposite of the message the movie is trying to convey.

There’s a fine line between passion and obsession.

One of the most poignant lessons the movie has to teach is that there is a very fine line that separates passion from obsession. When a soul becomes completely engrossed in an activity or belief, but does so out of compulsion instead of passion, they become lost.

The way the movie depicts this is at once disturbing and beautiful; it even injects a bit of dry comedy, as Joe bears witness to the rescue of one such lost soul, who turned out to be a hedge fund manager whose soul become lost while making trades.

This scene, and this message, gently prompts us to examine our own passions and compulsions, asking ourselves: on which side of the line do we believe we dance?

It’s the little moments that matter.

I’ve saved the most important lesson of the movie for last. Toward the end of the movie, Joe lands his dream gig with the jazz band after playing a killer set with them. Coming out of the club, however, he doesn’t feel as joyful as he thought he would when he pictured this moment.

While at home, he pictures all of his experiences on Earth with Soul #22 – the way she took pleasure in the little things, like her first slice of pizza, or the sun shining on autumn leaves as a maple key drifts gently toward the ground – and he realizes something. It’s not the big moments in life that make it worth living; hell, it’s not even having a purpose. It’s the little moments; the things we take for granted as we go about our busy days.

Coming out of that club and sharing his concerns with the band’s lead, she shares a story with him that I only properly understood the second time through the movie: a little fish swims up to an older fish and says “Excuse me mister, which way to the ocean?”

The big fish replies, “Look around you kid, you’re swimmin’ in it.”

“No I’m not,” says the little fish, “All I see is a bunch of water.”

The message there was that, for many of us, we go through life looking for meaning, or for purpose, thinking we’ll find happiness there. In reality though, happiness and joy are found in the everyday experiences, and living fully, completely, right there in those little moments. When we stop thinking of those moments as water, we find we were in the ocean all along.

Wrapping it Up

While I write about many different topics on this site, they all ultimately come back to one thing for me: happiness. As we say goodbye to 2020 and kick off our new year, Soul reminds us that, while we may be in the middle of a pandemic, that doesn’t have to squash our spirit. We can find happiness right here in the little moments, whether that be going for a walk with a loved one, trying out a new hobby with the extra time we have (hey, maybe you’ll find your spark!), or simply getting through one more day that brings us closer to coming out of this thing together.

If you haven’t already watched Soul at least once, be sure to do yourself a favour and give it a watch; I guarantee you won’t regret the time spent.

As for me, I’m content to have poured a little bit of my soul into this piece; 1,250 words, and look at the time 🙂 stay happy, folks!