The unique problem for a company with a track record of brilliance is that anything short of similar magnificence is often viewed as a disappointment. Enter Soul, the latest offering from the creative minds at Pixar, now streaming on Disney Plus.

Pixars 23rd feature-length animated film follows the quest of Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a middle-school band teacher looking to reunite his soul with his body, and 22 (voice by Tina Fey), a soul who has spent millennia in the Great Before lacking the spark required for her to begin life on Earth.

Helmed by talented director Pete Docter, Soul is a sometimes sublime, somewhat flawed entry into the noble Pixar canon. While a few sequences deserve a place in the upper echelon of the studios output, the film often struggles to find a consistent and coherent groove.

Throughout the films tidy 1 hour 40 minute runtime, Docter tosses around a number of imaginative set-pieces and attempts to delve into several worthy philosophical questions, some of which work more than others.

The animation concepts and sequences Docter and his team created for the zone a space between the physical and spiritual are among the most effective creative aspects of the film. Gorgeous colors, textures, and scoring perfectly capture the sense of being lost in the bliss of doing what we love best.

The hopeless, dreary void that exists below the zone is a similarly interesting counterpoint souls that linger in ones deepest passions for too long are consumed by them, turning them into burdened, lumbering, and monstrous creatures, roving aimlessly across a deep indigo sea.

Its an interesting visual representation of how the fiery emotions that allow entrance to the zone can lead to potentially ruinous consequences if such passions become so all-encompassing, inadvertently smothering much the joy out of the rest of your life. Indeed, as revealed in the films trailer, Joe literally dies from careless actions he takes while too busy reveling in the fact hes finally getting his chance at a big break.

Without a doubt, the animation of Soul is an achievement unto itself. Pixars recent leaps forward in depth-of-field, particle effects, lighting, shadows, and shading were shown off near the end of 2019s Toy Story 4 during the films carnival scenes. With Soul, the studios animators continue to reach greater heights. Both daytime and nighttime shots of New York City, reflections on shining instruments, and jazz club mood-lighting are beautifully rendered.

Appropriate for a film centered on a music teacher and part-time gig performer, a standout element of Soul is its score. Jazz and its related concepts of improvisation, feeling ones instrument, and getting lost in the music plays a large thematic role in the film.

Smartly, Docter and his team handed off the jazz music sections to Jon Batiste, bandleader of Staying Human as well as musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Atlantic. Batistes work is crackling, invigorating, and evocative, marking a continued winning streak for music in jazz-focused films following such hits as La La Land and Whiplash.

The non-jazz portions of Soul, however, flow from the combined pens of Nine Inch Nails members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. After winning an Academy Award in 2010 for their effective, minimalist score for The Social Network, the pair have composed exceptional music for numerous endeavors including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and HBOs Watchmen miniseries.

Soul represents their most tender and traditional offering yet. And, while there are some musical excerpts that bear resemblance to the driving, techno beats delivered in Watchmen, Reznor and Ross seamlessly fit their talents to the Pixar scoring mold carved out by the previous work of Michael Giacchino and Thomas Newman in particular. Highlights among their captivating work for the film include the cues Flashback, Earthbound, Thank You, and Enjoy Every Minute.

The musical pinnacle of Soul is, without question, the nearly four-minute cue, Epiphany. This is Reznor and Ross at their finest, rivaling the cue Lincoln Tunnel, written for Watchmen last year.

There are some jokes that land a slam-dunk dig at the Knicks would have definitely solicited open guffaws in an actual theater and some humorous cut-scenes to brief conversations with the souls of famous people, but the film lacks the overall comedic punch of greater Pixar fare.Yet what keeps Soul from the true magnanimity we expect from the creme de la creme of Pixar is a combination of flawed pacing and, at times, scatter-brained writing.

Contrasted with the fleshed-out worlds of Docters Monsters, Inc. and Inside Out, the world-building and lore of Soul are critically lacking. What souls can truly experience, what are the actual requirements for completing an Earth pass, and why certain objects (like particular leaves) can transfer between worlds arent fully explained.

Even more detrimental to the film is the speed with which Docter throws the viewer into such largely mysterious and unexplained realms. Were shown less than nine minutes of Joe Gardners life before he falls down a manhole to his death.Nine.

Then, were shockingly thrust into the eerie black void of the Great Beyond, only to be dropped into the bright, zany, and somewhat disorienting Great Before a mere three minutes later. Twenty-three minutes after that, Soul makes the bizarre turn into a body-swapping comedy. Its jarring, and one of several moments where the film suffers from an apparent identity crisis.

The understandable limits of the PG-rated Pixar cartoon genre aside, in Its A Wonderful Life, were given 105 minutes more than Souls entire duration before George Bailey is shown why his life has meaning. We know George. We know his deepest desires, his personality, his family, and his past. As such, when the final 25 minutes of the film make their move, the payoff is entirely earned.

Similarly, in Our Town, 70 minutes (a full two acts of the play) is devoted to building the character of Emily Webb. Thus, when Emily is tragically taken from the audience, Emilys subsequent life-affirming monologue at the close of the story is a powerful payoff to the tapestry woven by playwright Thornton Wilder.

While its admirable that Soul attempts to tackle multiple massive philosophical and religious questions, cramming it all into 100 minutes may have been too tall a task even in the talented hands of Pete Docter and Pixar.

All the while breezily providing the barest of expository tours of the world of Soul, the viewer is also supposed to be deeply invested in the life and purpose of a man they barely know. Its a big ask of adults, let alone children, many of whom will fall asleep or become bored during the films opening 20 minutes, if not before then.

If anything, Soul is aware it will be a hard sell for the same youngsters who enjoyed Finding Dory or even the more mature Inside Out. In an early scene in which Joe loses himself in a deep philosophical tangent in front of his band class, only to be greeted with blank stares, he appeals to his more gifted student, a trombone player named Connie. Connie knows what I mean, right, Connie? Joe implores. Im 12, is Connies blunt, deadpan response a sentiment likely expressed by many viewers her age and younger.

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As abruptly as the film crashes into new sequences in its opening scenes, the final moments of Soul take another hairpin turn.

Impressively, the film does manage to show how Joe starts to realize his gifts as a teacher and his positive influence on his students. Yet, after laying out all the pieces in place to have Joe carry on his teaching talents to remain in the Great Before as a mentor, hes given a last-minute second chance at life, and his soul returns to his body on Earth.

Its akin to the film version of Our Town, where Emily doesnt die in childbirth, but lives, imbued with a sense of resolve and an understanding of how better to slow down and live every moment. Its happy, but lacks the lingering gut-punch an audience member receives after watching the stage version of the play with the more somber ending: Emily didnt get a chance to savor every moment; I better make sure I do while I still have the time. Its hard not to think Soul wouldnt have benefitted in following that direction instead.

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To be sure, not all of the script or plot ideas falter. Continuing a recent trend Pixar has been following lately, theres no clear, traditional villain in Soul.

Terry, the cosmic accountant, isnt a villain, hes just doing his job. Nor is a villain to be found in the character of Joes mother, whos not entirely wrong in her cautious advice for her son, a middle-aged man whos unmarried and without a permanent job or health insurance.

Despite her acknowledgment and respect for Joes love of jazz, she clearly, and unselfishly, wants whats best for him. Her realism offers valuable balance to Joes more heart-strong impulses, and a blend of the two would, quite honestly, be in his interest. Soul deserves credit for not shying away from the fact that life is complicated, filled with difficult decisions, and riddled with trade-offs.

Indeed, a case can be made that Joe is both the hero and the villain the protagonist and the antagonist. Its Joe whos the one preventing himself from not fully appreciating life. His passion and preoccupation with jazz prevent him from understanding what gives life meaning. Hes the one getting in his own way until, that is, spending just a few hours on Earth with 22 opens his eyes to what hes been missing.

Ultimately, the message of Soul, although buried in between a number of somewhat conflicting ideas, is that while theres nothing wrong with pursuing an ultimate life goal, the journey is, as the saying goes, better than the destination. Happiness and fulfillment can be found in the mundane, the ordinary, and the seemingly meaningless little things.

Returning once more to Our Town, Emilys discovery is nearly identical to that made by Joe at the films conclusion. Emily had the newfound joy and appreciation for clocks ticking, Mamas sunflowers, food, coffee, new-ironed dresses, and hot baths; for Joe, its feeling water touch his toes on the beach, the taste of a good piece of pecan pie, his Moms careful sewing, and playing piano for his father.

The scene when Joe finally gets it ranks with some of the most moving sequences Pixar has animated, and is so well done it compensates for the shortcomings of the film as a whole. The joy of life isnt in one singular grand achievement of making it, but as Joe puts it in regular old living.

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