After the release earlier in the year of Onward, Pixar returns with a film centered on a music teacher -voiced by Jaime Foxx-, stuck in life with dreams of becoming a successful jazz musician, who finds himself transported out of his body after an accident and now has to return while having to mentor a young soul.

Having a middle-aged man, clearly unsatisfied with his unfulfilling existence, who has an accident of terrible consequences -within the first ten minutes- as a protagonist of the story might not seem as the best choice for a film supposedly aimed at children. However we have to remember that what we are watching is a Pixar film, and it is no secret they know a thing or two about how to craft a beautiful film which sometimes seems more fitting for adults than for children, with a few exceptions of course -Cars and its sequels are the first that come to mind-.

Soul is a film that, in the vein of Inside Out or Coco, is not afraid to build a story completely on a topic that will be fully and better understood by a more mature audience in a way that does not patronize children at all. Instead, it gives them a reasonable viewpoint from which they can start to think and then fully understand the message of the film.

For the most part of the story, Soul is focused on Joe and his quest to get back to his life and make his dreams come true. It is the fact that this film relates in a more direct manner to the adult world what represents the biggest difference between Soul and Inside Out and Coco. In Soul, children are limited to the margins of the story, playing a minimal role -only as Joe’s unmotivated students in a class in which only one child seems to be as passionated or talented as he is-.

As in the rest of Pixar films, there is a pair of characters right at the centre of the story, and in Soul, Joe is accompanied in his task by a young, unborn soul -named 22-, with an innocent shape resembling that of a baby -an animated one, not a real one though-, but voiced by Tina Fey. The fact that Joe -with his desire to return to his existence- has to mentor 22 -who has no intention of living in the real world- not only reinforces the powerful message of the film, but also provides a plethora of moments in which the back and forth between Foxx and Fey creates a constant source of entertainment, as they are an engagingly funny duo that warmly holds the film together at all times. In addition to them, both Rachel House -in a role that seems as a continuation of her performance in Hunt for the Wilderpeople-, and Graham Norton shine, never failing to provide some lighter moments.

Furthermore, Soul is also the first film of the studio to feature a Black protagonist whose interactions with his family and close circle of friends are represented in a way that avoids stereotypes and any possible caricature. All in all, while it might not be Pixar’s best film, Soul happens to be a highly original, beautifully animated film -to the extent that sometimes you might think that what you are seeing is real footage instead of animation- that will surely inspire and make its audience aware of the fact that no matter how tough it gets, life is worth living.