Summary

• Pixar's Soul offers breathtaking animation, relatable characters, and thoughtful life lessons.
• The film deals with the meaning of life and the character's purposes while still being fun.
• Soul features powerful quotes, dark humor, and a heartfelt message about living life to the fullest.

Pixar's Soul has breathtaking animation, characters the audience can root for, and it's fun for kids, while also offering some thoughtful expressions about life to the adults in the audience that make up the best Soul quotes. The story follows Joe Gardner, a music teacher and aspiring musician who dies right before his big break. While in the afterlife, he attempts to find a way back into his body with the help of a new soul who doesn't want to go to Earth.

Soul deals with the meaning of life and the complex idea of a person's purpose in life while still providing a fun animated adventure for all ages. The characters express these sentiments in a way that's accessible to the younger crowd. It makes for a number of memorable quotes that pack a powerful punch, some that give the audience something to think about, and others that are just great examples of Pixar's winning humor in its movies.

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25 "I'm A Manipulative Megalomaniac Who's Intensely Opportunistic."

A Young Soul Announces Itself

While there are a lot of Pixar jokes for grown-ups that can slip past younger audiences, Soul has a lot of fun playing around with darker humor. This includes a scene in which Joe watches an instructional video in the Great Before, the place where souls find their spark before going to Earth.

The video sees some of the souls declare themselves to be free-thinkers and risk-takers before one announces itself as a "manipulative megalomaniac who's intensely opportunistic." The fact that it is an adorable child's voice making the statement makes it even funnier, in addition to one of the Jerrys simply responding to the worrying comment with a chuckle and suggesting this one might be a handful.

24 "It Is Nice To Finally Talk to You About Something Other Than Jazz, Joe."

Joe Makes A Connection

Soul has some interesting comments to make on people's passions and the good and bad of such things. Joe is seen to be a talented musician who loves jazz deeply and it is exciting to see him getting an opportunity he has always wanted. However, a later scene in which 22 is in Joe's body while they visit a barbershop shows what Joe is missing.

After 22 engages in a long and profound conversation, the barber Dez comments on how he enjoyed talking to him about something other than jazz. It is a sign that Joe has been so preoccupied with jazz as his sole focus, he has missed out on making some real connections.

23 "Hell!"

The Young Souls Know More Than They Seem

Though a relatively small role in the first half of the movie, the young souls in the Great Beyond steal many scenes with their comedic depictions. When Joe accidentally ends up in the Great Before and is among all the young souls, he is naturally confused. Not wanting to worry the seemingly infantile souls, Joe asks one of the Jerrys if he is in hell, but cautiously spells out the word.

However, he doesn't count on the fact that the young souls know perfectly well how to spell and begin excitedly chanting "Hell!" It is a hilarious boundary-pushing moment for Pixar's usual wholesome vibes.

22 "Looks Like Another Hedge Fund Manager."

A Lost Soul Is Helped

Another one of the very interesting concepts in Soul's depiction of the afterlife is the idea of lost souls. These are seemingly monstrous beings wandering around aimlessly as Moonwind and his companions attempt to save them and help them reconnect with themselves back on Earth. This leads to a funny moment in which Moonwind saves a lost soul who is just repeating "make a deal" over and over.

Moonwind correctly assumes it is a hedge fund manager who has lost his love of life. After receiving some help, the movie shows the result back on Earth as the hedge fund man questions what he is doing with his life and excitedly throws out all of his work.

21 "I Don't Know, I Guess The Sun Is Just So..."

Joe Gets Used To Being A Cat

After exploring the interesting concepts of the afterlife, Soul becomes a funny body swap movie as Joe ends up in the body of a cat while 22 ends up in his body. A lot of the humor from this comes from 22 trying to believably pass as a middle-aged man in the real world. However, there are some funny moments with Joe as a cat as well.

Despite being frantic about finding a way to get back into his body somehow, as soon as Joe is back in his apartment, he immediately makes his way over to a sunspot on the floor and sleepily curls up in it. Joe can't even explain why he is drawn to it, but it is as if that was the entire purpose of being this cat.

20 "And I Wanted To Learn How To Talk Like That. That's When I Knew I Was Born To Play."

Joe Explains What Motivates Him

The main subject of Soul, beyond spiritualism and the afterlife, is music. However, despite the focus on sound and Joe's love of jazz in the movie, the subject is really a representation of any creative discipline.

True believers in a particular form of artistic expression often equate their chosen medium to a form of language, through which they can truly communicate with others in a way that normal everyday interaction doesn't allow for. Joe is a true believer in music and this early quote in the film from him makes that very clear for the audience from the get-go.

19 "This Beats My Dream About The Walrus."

Looking At The Great Beyond

When Joe first ends up on the conveyor leading up to the Great Beyond, he talks to three other souls who help him understand that he's experiencing death. One of them remarks on how the experience beats their dream about a walrus and, according to a review in The Globe and Mail, this is in the Inuit language, Inuktitut.

The exact meaning of the walrus is open to interpretation

The exact meaning of the walrus is open to interpretation and it may just be a simple gag, though, as per JaMonkey, some have interpreted it as a reference to Inuit mythology.

18 "See, The Tune Is Just An Excuse To Bring Out The You."

Joe Knows A Lot About Music

As Joe explains the passion that he feels for music to 22, he's deeply involved with the process of making music, knowing and loving each and every aspect of the methods behind it. Joe also clearly has his sense of identity tied to music and his feelings toward it. While his sentiment is relatable and inspiring for anyone creatively minded, there's a naivety to his words that only really becomes apparent later.

17 "This Is What. What I Want Is The Ocean."

Dorothea Williams' Story

After living his dream and playing with Dorothea Williams, Joe is left in an odd position, having finally achieved something that he had dreamed of for most of his life and not knowing what to do next.

Dorothea points out that all there is to do is to do it again the following evening and continue. She then tells Joe a story about a fish searching for the ocean, echoing a famous quote from The Wire about the way that life slips past people. Not being able to see the forest for the trees, or the ocean for the water, is Joe's main issue, as Dorothea points out with this insightful comparison.

16 "You Can't Eat Drums For Breakfast, Joey."

A Harsh Reality

Joe's mother is often an intimidating figure throughout the movie, but ultimately the closest person Joe has in his life also. She's very grounded and this clashes with Joe while he has his head in the clouds. When they finally have it out in the movie, Joe gets to express to her that he feels like she hasn't been supporting his passion in life and she gets to reason her case for being cautious. Neither of them is fully right or wrong, it's a complex situation as outlined by this undeniable truth from Joe's mother.

15 "I Am The Coming Together Of All Quantized Fields Of The Universe Appearing In A Form Your Feeble Human Brain Can Comprehend."

Jerry Tries To Explain The Inner Workings Of The Universe

Jerry the counselor meets Joe when he arrives in the afterlife and Joe is, understandably, confused by his current situation. Joe doesn't accept his fate and tries to reason with Jerry, but before he does, he asks Jerry who he is.

Jerry responds with this line saying that he's a counselor whose job is to counsel souls who have newly arrived in the afterlife.

Jerry responds with this line saying that he's a counselor whose job is to counsel souls who have newly arrived in the afterlife and help them adjust to their new reality, but Jerry chooses to appear in a more friendly form when greeting the souls. It shows just how high-concept the idea of the movie is, which makes its execution all the more impressive.

14 "Music Is All I Think About. From The Moment I Wake Up In The Morning To The Moment I Fall Asleep At Night."

Joe Only Has One Wish

Joe is passionate about music and while the movie says it's good to have a passion, or a spark, in life it's also important not to let this passion overly consume a person. After his experience, Joe learns to appreciate every little thing in his life while still appreciating music and not allowing himself to be overwhelmed by the possibility of not achieving exactly what he wants with his passion. This line is a great example of how the dialogue in Soul is recontextualized and takes on new meanings as the story progresses.

13 "The World Doesn’t Revolve Around You, 22!"

22 Is Unteachable

After she's introduced, there's a hilarious and very meta montage of 22 going through several famous mentors including Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, and Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus says this line referencing his discovery that everything does not revolve around the Earth, and delivers a quintessential Pixar gag that's smart while still being enjoyable for both kids and adults.

12 "The Zone Is Enjoyable. But When That Joy Becomes An Obsession, One Becomes Disconnected From Life."

Moonwind Gives Some Good Advice

Moonwind tries to help Joe and 22 return to their own bodies as he's able to see through life, the afterlife, and the zone. The zone is full of people who have become all consumed by their passions and spark in life. Moonwind has a great line about how having a passion and living in the zone temporarily is enjoyable, but letting that one thing completely consume a person's life is dangerous. It is an interesting idea to explore someone's deep passion, something seen in a lot of movies, but showing that it should not be an all-consuming thing.

11 "Life Is Full Of Possibilities. You Just Need To Know Where To Look."

Joe Needs To See The Wider World

Joe spends the movie learning how to better approach life so he can be more appreciative of the time he has on Earth instead of being so worried and upset about his achievements, or failures, with music. Joe learns that there's more to life than just pursuing a dream and that he can enjoy the little things instead of being obsessed with his career, and in so doing he finds inspiration from the tiny details of life that he'd disregarded before. It makes for a beautiful idea that serves as a reminder to not take things for granted.

10 "My Only Purpose On This Planet Is To Play. It's What I Was Meant To Do And Nothing's Gonna Stop Me."

Joe Knows Exactly What He Wants To Do With His Life

Joe says this line to Dorothea when he's convincing her to let him have another shot at playing with her and her band. He means every word of it when he says it and it's essentially proven true by the previous events of the movie.

Music is everything to Joe and he lives and breathes it.

Music is everything to Joe and he lives and breathes it. Once he lands in the Soul World, he believes music is his "spark" — hence him being literally born to play. Joe's journey throughout Soul isn't clear-cut, with his love of music neither being a fully positive nor negative thing about him. Nevertheless, his self-assuredness is inspiring.

9 "Lord Knows We Need More Teachers In This World."

Joe's Mother Tells The Truth

This line is spoken by Libba, Joe's caring but often overbearing mother, and while it might not have been what Joe wanted to hear, it is an essential truth. The audience sees throughout the movie how Joe's teaching impacts his students, particularly Curley, who went on to play with The Dorothea Williams Quartet, and Connie, who despite being young, seems to have a natural talent for music. Joe sees himself as something of a failure when he teaches jazz rather than playing it, but his mother's words are a reminder of the important value teachers have in the world.

8 "Can't Crush A Soul Here. That's What Life On Earth Is For."

22 Knows All About Earth

This witty line comes from 22 in The Great Before, after Joe witnesses a piece of the landscape fall on a group of souls who then scatter away, unharmed. For someone who's never been on Earth, 22 knows a lot about it. However, while the initial line just seems like a funny comment from the cynical 22, it speaks to her fears of going down to Earth and starting a real life. She is afraid of what life has in store for her as she rightly knows that there are a lot of things that can make a soul feel diminished.

7 "Is All This Living Really Worth Dying For?"

22 Asks The Big Question

One of Soul's more poignant lines also comes from 22, who muses whether "living" is really worth dying for. She seems fine with her routine at the You Seminar, solving sudoku puzzles and getting to torment a new mentor once a week. However, once she spends some time in Joe's body, she realizes how beautiful and amazing life on Earth really is. What is even more powerful about the quote is that by the end of the movie, the story seems to come to a definitive answer to 22's question which is "Yes it is."

6 "I've Been Messing With This Team For Decades."

The Cruelty Of 22

A more jokey line from the movie, also from 22, serves as a jab at the New York Knicks. While showing Joe around "the Zone," 22 demonstrates the fun that can be had in snapping some people out of the zone right when they are in the middle of things. She does so by hitting a basketball player, who then proceeds to miss his dunk and lose the game for the Knicks. 22 then jokes "I've been messing with this team for decades." The line was actually put in by Soul co-writer Kemp Powers, a self-professed die-hard Knicks fan.

22’s complicated relationship with Earth is further explored in the short 22 vs. Earth, available on Disney+