Soul

"Everybody has a soul. Joe Gardner is about to find his."

- Tagline

Soul is a 2020 computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was released on December 25, 2020. Originally intended to be a theatrical release, it was delayed multiple times and was eventually released on Disney+.

Plot
Joe Gardner is a middle school band instructor. Despite his job entailing the handling of rowdy students, he expresses his passion for music and jazz with his excellent skills on the piano. He is offered a full-time position at the school, which concerns him as he wants to become a full-time musician. His mother, Libba, wants him to accept as it would keep him financially secure. By chance, his friend Curly reveals that jazz musician Dorothea Williams is holding open auditions for a piano player at the Half Note Club. Joe arrives and plays the piano beautifully to the point that Dorothea offers him the job on the spot. As Joe happily heads off to prepare for tonight's performance, he accidentally falls down a manhole.

Joe finds himself as a soul heading into the Great Beyond. Not wanting to die just yet, he escapes the conveyer-like pathway and instead finds himself in the "Great Before," where soul counselors, all named Jerry, set up young souls for life on Earth. Joe poses as an instructor who is set to train the souls and is given 22, a soul who has remained in the Great Before for many years. 22 does not like Earth and finds it pointless and purposefully badgers her past instructors to leave her alone. Joe reveals to 22 the real reason why he is here and looks at his life up to the point he supposedly died. He realizes that he has not done much with his life, which gives him more incentive to return. 22 reveals that she has a badge that fills up with traits. She needs to find her "spark" to complete it and say she will give it to Joe to return home.

Joe tries to get 22 to find something to be passionate about, but nothing works. She takes him out to "the zone," an area that people enter when their passion sets them into a euphoric trance with no other options. It also houses the lost souls who become obsessed with minor things. They meet Moonwind, a sign twirler who enters the zone to rescue lost souls. He agrees to help Joe return to his body, and they learn that he has fallen into a coma and is on life support. Joe excitedly hops back to Earth but accidentally brings 22 with him, resulting in 22 entering his body and Joe ending up in the body of a therapy cat. Meanwhile, Terry, an accountant in the Great Before, realizes the souls to the Great Beyond are miscounted and learns quickly that Joe is missing and convinces the Jerrys to let her go look for him to bring him back.

22 and Joe escape the hospital, and the former is frightened by the sights and sounds. Joe calms her by giving her a pizza, allowing her to enjoy something for the first time. They run into Moonwind, who tells them that he can attempt to swap their bodies back, but after he is off work at 6:30, cutting it close to Joe's show at 7:00. They head to Joe's apartment, where Connie, one of Joe's students, arrives to tell him that she is quitting band. However, 22 listens to her trombone playing, and she changes her mind, perplexing her. They next go to get a haircut where 22 holds a conversation with Dez, the barber, and the two hold a very poignant conversation with each other. After 22 rips Joe's pants, they go to see Libba to have it fixed, and "Joe" finally has a serious talk with her about his passion resulting in Libba giving Joe his father's old suit.

Outside the club, 22 has an epiphany about many of the things she has experienced and decides she wants to live. Not wanting to switch back, she runs, and Joe gives chase. Terry catches up and removes them from their bodies and back to the Great Before, where 22 sees that her badge has been filled out. However, Joe tells her that she was using his experiences and that it does not matter. Angry, she tosses the badge at him and disappears to the zone. Joe learns from Jerry that a "spark" and "purpose" are not the same thing, and he heads back to Earth, where he makes it to the club on time. After playing for the night, Joe does not feel right about what happened and heads back home. Changed by 22's experience, Joe enters the zone and reunites with Moonwind to search for 22, who has become a lost soul. Joe chases 22 back to the Great Before and tries to give her her badge back but ends up getting eaten by her.

22 feels hopeless and broken about her purpose inside the corrupted body, with Joe trying to make her feel better, only to be stopped by the negative comments 22 was told (including his own). Taking a small petal that caught 22's attention before, Joe gives it to her, and she returns to normal. With her badge back, Joe rides with her as far as he can as 22 finally enters Earth. Joe is prepared to head into the Great Beyond but is stopped by a Jerry who tells him that he has inspired them and will give him another chance at life (as well as reveal that they distracted Terry from her counting so that she doesn't encounter the same situation as before). Joe thanks them and returns to the living, now with the intent to live his life to the fullest.

In a post-credits scene, Terry tells the audience that the movie is over and orders them to go home.