The Bee, or Not the Bee

Pixar's 'Soul' is getting rave reviews, but it left me cringing up until the very last minute

I wasn't sure if I liked "Soul," Pixar's latest film, up until the final scene.

This isn't easy to say. I'm a big Disney fan and went into "Soul" expecting great things. But when watching the film, I felt like the studio had taken a few steps backward after the release of Disney's 2018 blockbuster "Black Panther."

"Soul" introduces Pixar's first Black lead in Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a music teacher who longs to be a jazz musician. It follows Joe as the down-on-his-luck music teacher gets a big break at a jazz club.

As he prepares for the gig, his life is cut shockingly short. We watch as Joe, who wants nothing more than to get his life back to live out his dream, is paired with a bratty "unborn" soul (Tina Fey) who has the ability to go to Earth but doesn't want to take the trip because she can't see the point in living.

In its final moments, "Soul" is set to sacrifice its Black lead so a white woman can go and live out her life on Earth. Joe decides he's fine with dying because he was able to live out a dream. As the movie's about to wrap up, however, Joe's given a second chance to live because of his good deed. Good for ol' Joe, right?

Eh.

Despite Pixar's gorgeous animation (if you've ever been to Astoria in New York, the film captures it perfectly, down to the 7 train) and beautiful music from the "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" bandleader Jon Batiste, my entire experience watching "Soul" was a roller coaster of cringe and concern because of the film's creative choices.

First, Joe is killed the moment he gets his big break, within the first 10 minutes of the film. What kind of message does that send to young children watching this film who see themselves in Joe?

Second, "Soul" steps into a dangerous trope that has become frequent in animation with leads of color. After Joe "dies," we see him turn into a green blob — a pattern we've seen of turning Black characters into creatures. Sadly, the co-director Pete Docter told journalists during a virtual press conference Insider attended that he wasn't even aware of the trope until working on this film.

It doesn't help that "Soul" nearly became a white-savior movie.

When Joe winds up in another area called "the great before," he gets paired with Fey's character, 22. When Joe finally returns to his body 40 minutes into the film, 22 accidentally goes back to Earth too. Joe doesn't wind up back in his body though — 22 does. Yup, a white woman is put in a Black man's body.

Who thought it was a good idea to put a white woman in the body of a Black man? And not just any woman, but Fey, who earlier this year requested that episodes of her show "30 Rock" be pulled from streaming services because of blackface? The same show that still has episodes featuring brownface. Hearing her "trapped" in Foxx's animated body just felt insensitive, especially after this year.

Predictably, 22 eventually leaves Earth so Joe can continue living. It raises another question: Why does a dying Black man have to help a white woman live? (I have a hunch this last bit came from some of Docter's personal experience after he told Insider the inspiration for "Soul" came after feeling a lack of satisfaction with the success of "Inside Out.")

"Soul" is sitting at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. With so many other critics enjoying this film, why wasn't I?

Perhaps "Soul" had such positive reviews because the majority of the 33 critics who reviewed the film early, from October to November, listed on the review aggregator are white. Shouldn't at least half of the reviews for Pixar's first film with a Black lead come from critics of color?

Also, Pixar's first Black-led film should celebrate a Black man's experience and focus solely on his dreams and desires. Instead, Joe's life takes a back seat in order for a white woman to figure out what she wants from life.

If that doesn't speak more about our society, I don't know what does.

Would I want to watch "Soul" with a child on Christmas morning? Only if you want to have some long conversations about death, the meaning of life, and a little bit of white privilege afterward.
Grade: C