Soul is a Disney movie about the afterlife and new beginnings, The Pixar film is about the main character Joe Gardner, a jazz pianist who has a dream to play in a band. He gets stuck in the afterlife and realizes there’s more to life than doing what he loves.
Joe got an opportunity to play at a Dorothea Williams gig but on his walk home he got so excited he wasn’t paying attention and fell down a hole. Unfortunately he dies in the hole and travels into the afterlife. There, he meets Twenty-Two in the Great Before (beginning of life) who is a girl that is preparing to someday be born on Earth. Joe pretends to be a guide for Twenty-Two and helps her find her spark.
After returning to his present life, Joe accidentally switches bodies with a cat and Twenty-Two switches bodies with him. Just in time to perform at the jazz concert Joe switches back to his body and he does an amazing job. When it’s over he asks “What’s next” and Dorothea Williams says “We come back and do it all again” but Joe Gardner doesn’t feel any different. Twenty-Two goes back to the Great Before and that’s when he learns his lesson.
This means that others stay stuck to one specific dream and never feel pleased or accomplished in what they have done. Jazz is amazing but Joe learns there are other important things out there then jazz.
Joe’s interaction with people is very important because it shows that it’s good to care about how others feel. People are so concerned about what they’re doing that they never think to ask how others are doing.
For example, Joe would go to the barbershop and only talk about jazz to his barber. He never asked any personal questions to get to know the barber more. When Twenty-Two is in Joe’s body, Joe talks to his barber Dez who said he wanted to be a veterinarian. Joe only thought Dez wanted to be a barber because he never asked.Dez wasn’t able to be a veterinarian because his daughter got sick and barber school was a lot cheaper than veterinarian school.
Another example happened when Joe liked this woman that they didn’t really talk about much in the movie.He didn’t interact with her much because he only thought about jazz.
Lastly, when Joe meets Twenty-Two in the Great Before and realizes that she doesn’t really know her spark, Joe disguises himself as her guide to find it. She shows him that you don’t just need a spark, and there are other things out there to explore.Twenty-Two’s spark is her God- given talents and appreciation for all parts of life, whether it’s small or large.
That’s why human beings in general should interact with each other. It’s very important to not only share another person’s struggles or concerns in life, but their accomplishments.
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