[Movie Review]: Soul by Disney Pixar

 

Source: Shaw.sg

SOUL searching with Disney Pixar-

I went in the movie theatre expecting to watch a movie that inspires us to follow our hearts and find our passion, while portraying how the character "got lost" in his passion- music. 

To my surprise, this movie does just the opposite.  

Joe Gardner is an aspiring Jazz musician who works as a middle school band teacher. He was unhappy in his job as he believes he was born to perform and dreams of an opportunity to land a high-profile gig. When the opportunity finally comes, Joe accidentally fell into a manhole and lands himself in the "The Great Beyond" where dead souls line up. Not wanting to go just like that, Joe tried to escape and finds himself in "The Great Before" where unborn souls gathered and are mentored to discover their "spark" so that they can be lead productive, happier lives when they go to Earth. He then later became the mentor of an unborn soul named "22".

Throughout the movie, the concept of "spark" was introduced. At "The Great Before", every unborn soul has to discover their "spark" before they were given "The Earth Pass"- the approval to be born. Mentors will expose them to different activities from Earth, hoping to ignite that "spark". 

Joe's mission was to help 22 find her "spark".

But what exactly was the meaning of the "spark"? 

Joe has always thought "spark" was the purpose of someone's life- like how he believed his purpose was to play jazz.

However, through a series of events, when Joe finally managed to perform at his dream gig, it felt different from what he had imagined. He wasn't happy. This makes him question what his purpose in life really is. 

On the other hand, 22 found joy from simple things in life such as tasting pizza, fallen leaves, a lollipop. 

The movies teaches us that there is no definition of what our purpose in life is. We are not born to do a certain activity or to be a certain person. Our happiness is not dependant on whether we are doing our "dream job" or being with our "dream partner".  

"Spark" is simply the passion to live. It's appreciating the little things in life.

It is living the most our of everyday. 

We were often told to "chase our passion". "If we do a job that we are passionate about, we don't have to spend a day working". We were told that we were all born with a purpose in life and we have to find it. But what really is passion? 

Perhaps passion is not about an activity, it's about an attitude, an attitude of living.

"The meaning of life is defined the moment you decide to find a meaning for your life" 

We often feel dissatisfied in our current situation as we thought we will be happier when we achieve certain things such as getting that dream job. But just like Joe felt a sense of emptiness after performing for the gig he has always dreamt of, these doesn't guarantee happiness. Moreover, when one goal is reached, another is created. We will end up chasing our dreams rather that living. 

"Don't lose sight of the beauty around us while working towards what we want"