Soul
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.
Critics Sentiment
Joe helps 22 and receives another opportunity at life
Joe falls down a manhole and dies while celebrating
The film rises dramatically from Joe's death through 22's joyful discovery of life's simple pleasures, creating its most emotionally resonant sequence.
Soul builds from a solid but rushed opening through increasingly inventive and emotionally rich middle sections. The film peaks in its final act as 22's wonder at everyday life and Joe's ultimate realization about living fully deliver the profound, life-affirming message that reviewers found transcendent. Critics consistently praised the animation, music, and philosophical depth while noting some pacing issues in the complex early sections.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 31
Jamie Foxx
Joe Gardner (voice)
Tina Fey
22 (voice)
Graham Norton
Moonwind (voice)
Rachel House
Terry (voice)
Alice Braga
Counselor Jerry (voice)
Richard Ayoade
Counselor Jerry (voice)
Phylicia Rashād
Libba Gardner (voice)
Donnell Rawlings
Dez (voice)
Questlove
Curly (voice)
Angela Bassett
Dorothea (voice)
Cora Champommier
Connie (voice)
Margo Hall
Melba (voice)
Daveed Diggs
Paul (voice)
Rhodessa Jones
Lulu (voice)
Wes Studi
Counselor Jerry (voice)
Sakina Jaffrey
Doctor (voice)
Fortune Feimster
Counselor Jerry (voice)
Calum Grant
Hedge Fund Manager (voice)
Laura Mooney
Therapy Cat Lady (voice)
Zenobia Shroff
Counselor Jerry (voice)
Crew
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