Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Soul Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 22, 2021

Some might argue that Rock ‘n Roll is the quintessential American music form, but many more would argue for Jazz, a distinctly unique form of musical expression played from the heart and soul with a distinctly Americana flavor. Jazz music -- and the passion to play it amidst the pursuit of happiness in life -- is central to the story of Soul, the latest from Pixar that follows in the footsteps of Inside Out to explore the existential qualities of life from a familiar, yet at the same time unique, perspective. Pete Docter (Up, the aforementioned Inside Out) directs an accessible and intelligent film that follows a man, a dream, and a realization that life is more than a pursuit and living more than a dream.

In the zone.

Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a man with a passion for Jazz and a classroom full of students who can’t play worth a lick, has just been offered a full-time band teacher position. His mother (voiced by Phylicia Rashad) insists that he take the job and stop with the “dead-end gigging.” But he fancies himself a Jazz pianist and has little interest in spending his days cooped up in a classroom. He wants to play. He wants to play with passion, with purpose, with soul. When he lands an audition to play with the great Dorothea Williams, he dazzles her and her bandmates. He lands the job, but no sooner does he get it, he falls into an open manhole and finds himself on a stairway to heaven. Panicked, he flees and falls into “The Great Before,” a place where young souls are granted personalities before arriving on Earth. He’s mistaken for a mentor, an ethereal being assigned to prepare these souls prior to leaving for Earth. Can Joe finagle his way back to Earth alongside one of these malleable protégés?

Maybe. He’s assigned to “22” (voiced by Tina Fey), a troubled, and troublesome, soul that wants nothing to do with Earth. 22 has been mentored by many of the great spiritual, political, and psychological minds spanning Earth’s recent history, but it’s been a no-go. She’s stubborn and refuses to finalize her training, to find her “spark” to complete her prep work for life on Earth. As the two trudge along through The Great Before, Joe eager to find a way back into his body and 22 eager to keep from falling into hers, they devise a scheme to allow Joe to return to his “pathetic,” as 22 calls it, existence while keeping her safe and happy in the Below. The plan works but Joe accidentally brings 22 back with him. She lands in his body and he falls into that of a cat. With Joe distraught and dismayed and eager to get back behind the piano and on with a life that, before his accident, was finally on the "right" track, 22 comes to realize that life on Earth may be worth living after all and may not be so eager to give Joe’s body back.

The movie remains on-message from start to finish. Joe, whose last name is, aptly, Gardener, has tilled his soul's soil and wants only to reap the harvest of a single life note: to play Jazz piano on the stage, in front of fans, to make music -- good music, not the sloppy din in the classroom -- his life. But as he experiences life through 22's eyes -- eyes which are, much like his, at first closed to the joys and pleasures and purposes of living life -- he comes to understand that living means more than pursuing a single dream, that there's purpose and pleasure in the little things, too. Conversely, 22 learns the same lessons. These are not at all disparate souls, and perhaps Joe's adventure has a hand of fate or divine intervention working in it after all (unbeknownst to the equally single-minded and singularly purpose-driven Terry [voiced by Rachel House], the "accountant" whose only concern is counting, and the "wayward" Joe makes the count off by one; this connection is not explicitly stated in the movie but it's certainly a possibility). Whether brought together by considered choice or by cosmic chance, Joe and 22 need one another; they just don't know it.

Soul is in many ways similar to Inside Out insofar as it explores the human condition from a more existential, in some ways external, but also intimate and internal, perspective. It lacks that film's emotional punch and depth, though it is certainly a satisfying journey of self discovery, stating that life is a collection of moments, a bundle of experiences, not simply a singular tunnel vision A-to-B line. Both Joe and his mother share that in common, that narrow perspective, but both approach it from different directions. Joe wants to live his dream. Mother dreams of her son living a life of simple security. But maybe, the film says, they are both wrong. Mom's safety net and Joe's dream are not goals of wasted energy. They both serve a purpose and have a place in life, but Joe, and 22, learn that existing is a three dimensional, not a flat trajectory, experience. It's a very satisfying story that, in classic Pixar fashion, blends together cutting-edge animation, witty humor, and memorable characters with meaningful storytelling. This is not Pixar's best for emotional pull -- Docter's Inside Out and Up remain the standard bearers -- but it's a well worthwhile picture that is a welcome entry into the Pixar canon.

Soul Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Soul's Blu-ray presentation really requires no review other than to say "perfect." Disney delivers the exact image anyone with familiarity of the Blu-ray format, the studio's past work, and the quality of the Pixar animation would expect to find. The picture thrives in all areas, whether out on dense city streets, under low light bar interiors, or in the various locales that the film posits exist beyond the realm of human understanding. As for the former, the picture could not be any more gorgeous. The Blu-ray capably, and with great attention to textural detail, brings out every fine detail the digital artists have painstakingly created. The real world of Soul is breathtakingly complex and lifelike; it's still difficult to fathom this amount of creative power inside the computer and the vision necessary to realize a world -- even one as familiar and natural as this -- with such detailed grandeur. But the Blu-ray shows every concrete slab, brick façade, storefront sign, and general city location details with an excellence reserved for the finest films and the finest transfers. The picture is a little bit different in the "Great Beyond" and the "Great Before." There's less "life," for lack of a better term. Lines are simpler, environments less dynamic, characters two dimensional, but the transfer is here no less sharp and convincing in its vision of this created world. It's a fun mixture of real and imagined and the Blu-ray capably brings these elements to the screen with dazzling efficiency. So too are character models wonderfully detailed. Hair, pores, animal fur, and the like are sharp and perfectly realized. The UHD may bring out a little more clarity but the Blu-ray is no slouch. This is one texturally rich and tack-sharp presentation.

Color output is also as-expected: big and bold yet grounded and very satisfying. Colors are subtle and rich with, again, a big distinction between the real world tones seen in the, well, real world and the more limited selection pastels within the realms beyond. Certainly it's the real world where the palette thrives. Urban tones are matched with bountiful colors on items like fall leaves or bright neon signage as well, to be sure, in the more screen-filling tones on clothes and larger surface area backgrounds. There's no shortage of vibrancy to be found and no push to either extreme contrast or diminished output. The "Beyond" worlds offer more diffuse, less dense colors, but to be sure these are not in any way less effective. They're perfectly reflective of filmmaker vision, supported by brilliant blacks in the stretch in between and bright whites along ethereal characters and stars. The picture is technically flawless beyond one or two mild appearances of banding (the most egregious, yet still not at all "serious," example can be seen during Joe's audition for Dorothea around the seven-minute mark). The picture is otherwise free of other source or encode artifacts. It's about as near perfect as a Blu-ray can get.

Soul Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Soul's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is sonically fruitful. Unlike some past Disney films there's not a major feel for limited range and absentee low end extension. The film doesn't roar, but its sound design is not intended to do so. This is more of a reflective film and the soundtrack reflects that posture. To be sure the film has its share of amplified, sonically intensive moments. Listen when 22, as Joe, and Joe, as a cat, emerge from the hospital at the 40-minute mark. There's an explosion of deep and intense city din, the collective audio offering a tangible full stage engagement and rich bass in addition to discrete definition and clarity excellence even in the mass jumble of sounds. That's probably the most sonically intensive moment the track has to offer. Other elements, though, are right at home. Jazz music is smooth and detailed, score is clear and lifelike, and world ambience is well defined and immersive. The track is never shy about extending its elements for width and depth alike. One of the most enjoyable moments comes when one of the "Jerry" characters searches below the stage for an absentee 22 with the sound seamlessly traveling across and through the stage. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and center positioned for the duration. Note that the UHD includes a Dolby Atmos soundtrack and also note that this Blu-ray defaults to the DTS-HD HR 5.1 track rather than the DTS-HD MA 7.1 track.

Soul Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

It's a pleasant surprise to find that Soul includes so many extras that Disney added a dedicated second Blu-ray disc for bonus features. With this release assuredly produced in the middle of the pandemic, it would have been easy for the studio to simply drop a couple of featurettes and call it a day, but this is a full-fledged special edition with plenty of bells and whistles. See below for supplemental reviews. This release ships with DVD and digital copies as well.

Disc One:

• Not Your Average Joe (1080p, 9:45): A broad selection of the talent that made the film discusses Joe's character in detail: building the character, his story seen and unseen in the film, Foxx's voice work, the importance of crew diversity in the filmmaking team in shaping an authentic character, Jon Batiste's contributions to the film, and more.
• Astral Taffy (1080p, 8:12): Building the "Soul World:" concept designs and visualizing a make-believe location, real-world design cues, and more.
• Audio Commentary: Director Pete Docter, Producer Dana Murray, and Co-Writer/Co-Director Kemp Powers share insightful technical and thematic details as well as some interesting anecdotes and asides. It's well spoken, pleasantly paced, and fully informative. Fans will find it a worthwhile listen.

Disc Two:

• Pretty Deep for a Cartoon (1080p, 6:29): Exploring the "steep ideas" that are a recurring theme in Docter's movies with, of course, focus on Soul. It looks at some story evolution, plot basics, and the lessons Joe and 22 learn through the film.
• Into the Zone: The Music and Sound of Soul (1080p, 8:24): As the title suggests, this piece explores the familiar, and unique, aural components to the film: what they do, how they were made and by whom, and why they were chosen for the film.
• Soul, Improvised (1080p, 6:49): Looking at how the pandemic impacted the production and moving forward in a work from home environment.
• Jazz Greats (1080p, 2:50): Several of the biggest names in Jazz share their thoughts on music and the movie.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 22:17 total runtime): Following an Introduction are the following scenes: Mentor Orientation, Clubhouse Forgery, Home Lessons, Living the Dream, and Press Shot. Scenes are presented in the very early developmental stages.
• Trailers (1080p): Included are 'Soul:' Born To Be: Global Teaser in English (1:41), 'Soul:' Chicken Soup - Global Trailer in Polish (2:21), and 'Soul:' Alive - International Trailer in Russian (2:11).

Soul Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Needless to say Soul hits all the right notes insofar as its technical pedigree is concerned. The movie looks fantastic, the voice work is top-notch, and every detail has been carefully considered. And like most all of Pixar's films, that care and concern extends to the story. This is a rich, creative exercise in exploring the human condition. It shares some narrative and design commonalities with Inside Out yet still finds its own creative voice and vision. Disney's Blu-ray is terrific. Plenty of extras spread across two discs support top-flight video and audio presentations. Very highly recommended.