Soul Closes Strange Year 2020 With Meaning

22 and Joe Gardner (Twitter @PixarSoul)

JAKARTA - Disney and Pixar release their second 2020 film, Soul, via the Disney + streaming service on December 25. Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, this film is Pixar's newest offering after releasing Onward in early March.

Soul tells of a music teacher in New York named Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) who dreams of becoming a great jazz musician. One time, Gardner had the opportunity to perform with jazz legend, Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett).

Not wanting to waste a chance, Joe Gardner hurried back to his house to prepare himself. However, on the way he had an accident. Suddenly his soul is separated from his body and he goes to The Great Before and meets Jerry (Alice Braga), a soul counselor who prepares an unborn soul for life on earth.

There, Joe Gardner saw his life journey filled with passion to become a famous musician. Gardner meets 22 (Tina Fey), a lost soul who has no purpose in living in the world.

Every soul in The Great Before has a badge that must be fulfilled. 22 enlisted Joe Gardner's help in finding the sparks as a passion to fulfill the badge and 22 promised the badge was given to Gardner to return to the world.

Connect with Everyone

Soul tells the search for the meaning of life from various perspectives. 22 looking for the spark that he hopes will become a new meaning in his life. Meanwhile, Joe Gardner believes that the 'spark' is present if someone has passion.

Joe Gardner is confident in his passion for music. But when the two of them saw what was happening in the real world, they realized that life is not just about passion. The 22 characters who hope that a passion can please humans instead hear various unfortunate stories about other people's lives because they don't live what they want.

Sometimes, we are active in pursuing our dreams without realizing what is happening around us.

The film Soul tells about life's conflicts in an easy-to-understand way. Like watching a musical game, the story begins at a slow tempo and gradually becomes fast.

Launching an NCR interview with director Pete Docter, Soul tries to explore stories about life rather than focusing on topics of love like other Pixar films. Moreover, many adults are experiencing a midlife crisis and often question their purpose in life.

There are many people like Joe Gardner; know what they like but not a few people have had experiences like 22 where they didn't know what to do in life.

“(Soul) is not as simple as loving. You can do all things for one reason, to love one another. But I feel this is broader than just human relations. I think it's about relations with the world too, "said Docter.

Thick Black Cultural Interference

In addition, the film Soul also features the main character, the black man Jamie Foxx. "For me proud to say; "I was the first African-American main character at Disney-Pixar, that's amazing," Foxx quoted Variety as saying.

"He (Joe Gardner) is a brilliant music teacher in New York who is trying to find his soul ... but he helped us all to find our souls," wrote Jamie Foxx of his gratitude for the film Soul via Instagram.

This role cannot be separated from the co-director of Kemp Powers who wants everything related to the character of black people to be presented authentically. The ideal fade haircut, bebop jazz, the black community gathering at the barber shop are all eye-catching details.

Disney Pixar wanted to properly portray black culture. They consulted a number of musicians such as Ryan Coogler, Kenya Barris, Quincy Jones, and Yo-Yo Ma about the jazz performance in Soul.

Musician Jon Batiste co-works on original music, Daveed Diggs and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as music consultants, as well as special scores from duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Score. Batiste presents classical jazz while duo Reznor and Score present an experimental electro track. The two combine to accompany the adventures of Joe Gardner and 22.

Oscar Entry Projections

The film Soul is projected to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Soul became an animated film that was 'strong' when compared to other films released in the same year.

Pete Docter-directed films such as Monster, Inc, Up, and Inside Out have won Oscar awards.

Good criticism, impressive story elements and black culture that are present in the film make Soul worthy of being nominated. Kepiawan Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey collided with the roles and the selection of various music to make this film like entertainment that also gave a meaningful message.

Soul is the right film to close the year 2020. After going through the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing various ups and downs of feelings and events, Soul is a reminder for viewers to look inside themselves about what has been lived throughout life. Is this really the life we want?