Movie Review: Soul

 Michael's Movie Grade: B

While not perfect, there is a ton of Pixar charm and magic to go around. 

So much of what makes this movie work comes from its message and its imagination. This movie has a great and very thought provoking message about what we truly live for and how easy it can be to misunderstand that concept. This message will connect with younger Pixar fans but not as much as it will for adult Pixar fans. This is a truly beautiful and inspiring message and one that will make you stop and think about what you are living your life for. The realm of the great beyond and the great before are wonderfully designed and creatively thought-out. There was obviously a lot of thought and effort put into these places and it pays off. Just as great was how our world was portrayed. It felt quite magical while still feeling like our world and not some idealized place. The filmmakers found beauty in the real world without ever sugarcoating a thing. The two main characters are very likable and relatable. They are not simply stereotyped personality traits but fully thought-out people with quite a few facets to there personality. 

There are definitely some places where this film falls flat.. There is a lot of comedy from beginning to end but there are only a few jokes that are actually funny. While there aren't many really bad jokes (there are few groaners here), most of them left me without much of reaction. Simply put I felt like I should have laughed more. While the two main characters were quite likable, the rest of the characters are simply one note stereotypes rather than feel like real people. Also while this movie may not be especially long there are still a few times in which it kind of drags and feels a bit longer than it is. However I definitely felt the good parts of this movie overcame these faults, as the parts of this film that worked were extremely good.