On December 25th, Disney released the new movie Soul (rated PG),directed by Pete Docter, who has previously directed Oscar-winning movies such as Monsters, Inc., Inside Out, and Up, along with playwright and screenwriter Kemp Powers, best-known for his work on One Night in Miami. 

This film follows jazz musician Joe Gardner who, while in the streets of New York, falls into an open manhole, which leads to time spent in the hospital. After this near-death experience, he wakes up as a soul along with other souls heading towards a white light, but Joe isn’t ready for The End and manages to flee in the other direction. Instead of going back to his body, he ends up in a bright, wondrous place known as The Great Before. The purpose of this place is for new souls to discover their personalities and their “sparks” alongside mentors in order to have productive and happy lives down on Earth. Only once they’ve accomplished this can souls go onto Earth.

In The Great Before, Joe Gardner gets mistaken for a mentor who was an important Swedish psychologist. He gets assigned to mentor a stubborn fresh soul known by the number 22 voiced also by Tina Fey. Twenty-Two has never felt the appeal of having the human experience and had rejected the mentorship of important figures such as Aberham Lincoln and Gandhi. In an attempt for Joe to return to Earth, Joe reveals his identity to 22, and she agrees to team up with him. While showing 22 what’s great about living on Earth, Joe soon discovers the answers to some of life’s most important questions.

Soul is really a moving, beautiful film with amazing animation art. Very colorful and really fun to watch, one can tell that there was a lot of thought put into this movie, and there are important messages viewers can take away from watching this film. It’s because of that, that this movie does not only appeal to younger ages but older audiences as well. The movie delivers a heartwarming message about the gift and beauty of living. Having said all this, I would have to give this movie a 10/10 and recommend it for everyone to watch. 

Will Joe be able to safely return back to Earth, and will 22 really find her spark? You’ll have to watch for yourself on Disney+, which has a big variety of shows and movies while being ad-free. It also is compatible with most devices and even allows you to group stream. This streaming service costs about $6.99 per month, or you can also prepay $69.99 for a full year. They also have a bundle option that includes Hulu, Disney+ and Espn+ for only $12..99 a month. To sign up today you can visit https://www.disneyplus.com/welcome.