
Soul
Everybody has a soul. Joe Gardner is about to find his.
2020 • 101 min • Animation · Family · Drama · Music · Fantasy
Synopsis
Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.
Our family guide
Best from age 7- 100 Reviewers · 9 · 75%
- 81 Audience · 11586 · 25%
Joe, a jazz musician and teacher, unexpectedly finds his soul separated from his body. He journeys to the Great Before, a fantastical place where new souls find their sparks before life on Earth. Partnering with a cynical soul named 22, Joe must find his way back to his body and discover what truly makes life worth living.
- Violence & peril
- 1/10
- Language
- 1/10
- Drinking, drugs & smoking
- 1/10
- Romance & sensuality
- 0/10
- Scary moments
- 3/10
Heads up
- Discussions of the afterlife may be sensitive.
- Some intense chase scenes and peril.
- Brief instances of mild language.
- A character uses a cigar briefly.
What it models well
- Finding your purpose
- Appreciating life's small joys
- Mentorship and guidance
- Self-discovery
Talk about it after
- What gives life meaning beyond a single goal?
- The importance of helping others find their path.
- How everyday moments can be extraordinary.
- What does it mean to have a "spark"?
Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Soul. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.
Where to watch
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Top billed cast
Director: Pete Docter • Crew: Pete Docter, Mike Jones, Kemp Powers, Pete Docter, Kemp Powers, Mike Jones
Trailers & clips
Back in Theaters
The Music of Soul | Behind the Scenes
Official Trailer 2
Q&A | BFI London Film Festival 2020
Official Trailer
Official Teaser Trailer
Reviewer notes
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersSoul is Pixar’s first film featuring a Black main character, marking a bold and important step in representation. It offers a thought-provoking narrative about life, death, and purpose, visualized through vivid colors that distinguish different realms of existence. While critically acclaimed for its animation and music, the film’s complex themes make it more suitable for adults than children. Read the full revi...
RecommendedNow this is not my favourite style of animation, I find it all a little unnatural to watch. That said, though, this is a charming story that follows the life of a music teacher who really just wants to play his beloved jazz. "Joe" finally gets an opportunity to tinkle the ivories with the band of the renowned "Dorothea". She like shim, he likes her - then an accident befalls and in best "Matter of Life and Death" ...
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersI watched a cartoon with children. Kind and deep cartoon. I liked the humor, especially when the hero's soul moved into the cat. I recommend it for family viewing
RecommendedPleasant film. <em>'Soul'</em> didn't connect with me on any deep level, but it is an undoubtedly sweet film. It attempts a lot of heart and I respect that. Jamie Foxx has been in some of my favourite films and he is good as Joe here. I also like the casting of Graham Norton as Moonwind. One thing that probably stopped me thoroughly enjoying this is the animation and character design, particularly when in th...
RecommendedReally good watch, would watch again, and can recommend. I'll have to admit, I went into this thinking it would be Disney's yearly racist progressive attempt, so the bar was pretty low. The movie is actually delightful, and shockingly deep. The title indicates it has to do with the human soul, so I was expecting something along the lines of "Inside" or having to do with jazz, and while it has a rather nice ...
RecommendedSoul is the latest effort by Disney Pixar, a beautiful and wonderful film that will leave anyone to ponder about life, its value and the magic inherent in existence. The film tells the story of a man who accidentally falls into a ditch and "dies". However, he does not accept his death and begins a journey into his own afterlife until he is able to reunite with his body, in a coma on earth. For a children's...
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersIn a year where most of us have been trapped indoors, the timing of 'Soul's' release can be seen as either a blessing or a curse. For some, it will act as a calming balm for a tough year; the perfect vehicle for inducing a good cry. Others, on the other hand, may reject it as yet another unnecessary mirror held up to their biggest fears exacerbated by a year where living with perceived “purpose“ has been near impo...
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersThis is my favorite Disney Pixar movie, even beating Monster's Inc! There wasn't a minute where I wasn't enjoying the movie, there's very powerful meaning to this movie (that will go over kids' heads) and for once, it (in my opinion) tackles an issue big with teens and adults more than kids (at least more than usually). The movie's message is (from what I understood it anyway) about anxiety, sadness, and fea...
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersIf you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com Out of my Top15: Most Anticipated Movies of 2020, eight were removed from this year's schedule due to the current global pandemic, so I didn't have that many films for which I felt incredibly excited. I love pretty much everything that Pixar puts out, and at the start of 2020, I noticed that the studio was releasin...
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Gallery
Details
- TMDB audience
- 8.1/10 (11,586)
- Age rating
- PG
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $150,000,000
- Box office
- $121,977,511
- IMDb
- tt2948372
- Official site
- www.disneyplus.com

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