Pixar's new movie release has been the talk of the town. But what exactly does its opposing protagonist teach us about life?
At long last, a new Pixar film. For a generation that grew up on classics such as Monsters Inc, A Bug’s Life, and even Finding Nemo, a new Pixar film is something of a thrill. But Soul belongs to a new generation of Pixar, one that, like 2015’s Inside Out, focuses on something incredibly intimate. It’s almost laughable really, to think that just a decade ago children grew up on movies that centred around romance and fairy godmothers. Now moviemakers are tackling issues about life purpose — something most adults can neither make heads nor tails of (but don’t tell your kids that just yet).
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Soul’s story centres around the life of Joe Gardner, a middle school band teacher who’s also an aspiring jazz musician. But like most movie characters who find themselves within the coils of New York City, Joe Gardner is having a difficult time achieving said dream, until one day it just happens. He gets a call from a former student telling him he should audition for Dorothea Williams, a frosty saxophonist who, with the raise of an eyebrow and the snap of a finger, fulfils all of Joe’s dreams by giving him a spot as her pianist for the night. Unfortunately, and quite literally, Joe dies in the very next scene.