SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
Soul is yet another gorgeous Pixar outing! The lighting effects and photorealistic quality of the animation are simply mind-blowing, and it's only going to get better from here on out like it always did. The colors, shadows and highlights represent the peak of technology!
The premise is interesting for sure. Just when Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a middle-aged man seeking a permanent piano-playing position to feed his passion receives the exact opportunity he's after, he meets an untimely demise. How he finds his way back to his body while learning the true meaning of life en route forms the crux. The concept is sound and the life lesson it offers is simply beautiful! While the protagonist is busy chasing after his spark thinking that his life's purpose solely revolves around that, he discovers, through an unborn soul named 22 (voiced by Tina Fey), that the very point of life is to live life itself!
Unfortunately, the scenes that fill up the plot aren't too engrossing. It shares the same issue with another Pete Docter's animated feature - Inside Out. The astral worldbuilding lacks enticing creativity and the single story arena is constantly breached by the plot traveling to various areas within the ethereal universe, on top of finding its way back to Earth. Once the body-swap plot hits, it just became one too many movie magic.
Various historical figures in soul form, mentors to teach unborn souls, barber shop sharing, Joe's honest conversation with his mother and the tension with Terry (voiced by Rachel House) the accountant are notable. The score is heavenly too!