Upon premiering on Disney+ on December 25, 2020, Pixar's new animated feature Soul has amassed some of the most positive reviews of the year. The film currently holds a 96% Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating to go along with its 83/100 Metascore and 8.2/10 IMDB mark (already good enough to rank #177 on IMDB's Top 250). As such, Pixar is once again poised to win Best Animated Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards.
In addition to its uplifting message and profound statement on what it means to have a soul, the film is littered with one likable character after another. To see how they stack up with one another, scroll below.
Terry
Voiced by Rachel House, Terry is a ratlike character who uses an abacus to count souls set to enter The Great Beyond. For much of the time, he is a cranky accountant who takes his job way too seriously.
Terry follows Joe and 22 to Earth, captures them, and brings them back to the Great Before. Although Terry has a few funny lines, he is the number one villain trying to get Joe to officially die and enter The Great Beyond.
Counselor Jerry
One of the more charming aspects of the movie is the notion of soul counselors in the Great Before, all of whom happen to be named Jerry. The two most prominent Jerrys in the film include the ones voiced by Alice Braga and Richard Ayoade.
Although abstract in shape, Jerry is an adorable figure who informs Joe of how The Great Before operates. Alice Braga's Jerry gives Joe a tour of the Great Before and explains in detail how souls are formed and assigned to humans on Earth.
Dorothea
Angela Bassett plays Dorothea Williams in Soul, the accomplished jazz saxophonist leader of the band that Joe wants to join as the movie begins. After auditioning for her, Dorothea enjoys Joe's piano skills enough to offer him an opportunity to perform with her.
Dorothea's kindness comes full circle in the end when she allows Joe to perform with her quartet following his soulful journey to the Great Beyond. However, by then Joe realizes that playing music is no longer his true passion.
Moonwind
Voiced by British comedian Graham Norton, the cheery character of Moonwind serves as a spiritual ferry who points souls in the right direction in The Great Before.
In addition to his bubbly personality, the sign-twirling Moonwind plays a pivotal role when Joe and 22 search for him to restore Joe's Earthly body. Although 22 changes her mind before Moonwind can assist them, his kind willingness makes him one of the more lovable characters.
Curly
Under the inspiring tutelage of his music teacher Joe, Lamont "Curly" Baker (Questlove) is a student who learned how to play the drums before joining the Dorothea Quartet as an adult. Joe's passion for music rubs off on Curley in a most positive way.
When Curley runs into Joe much later in life, he offers him a chance to meet Dorothea Williams and potentially join her jazz quartet. Curley's karmic pay-it-forward kindness makes him one of the more likable people in the movie.
Connie
One of the most soulful moments of the movie comes when Connie (Cora Champommier), a once disheartened trombonist in Joe's music class, loses herself in a moving jazz solo.
The solo not only rekindles Connie's inherent passion for playing music, but it also demonstrates that very passion to 22, who begins to understand what a soul means as a result. Connie's spontaneous solo allows her to enter the zone and show 22 what it means where their passion becomes transcendent.
Libba
Joe's mother Libba Gardner (Phylisha Rashad) radiates loving warmth and overwhelming goodness in the few scenes she appears onscreen. Although she disapproves of Joe's aspirations to be a jazz pianist at the beginning, her concerns turn out to be well-founded in the end.
Libba is a seamstress who owns her own boutique clothing store. Her primary concern regarding her only son is that Joe hasn't found his true passion or calling in life yet. It's Libba who encourages Joe to find what makes him happiest even if it requires sacrifice.
22
Tiny Fey's 22 is the most complicated character in Soul. The jaded and cynical soul that has been living in the Great Before for eons has a grim view of life on Earth for much of the film but evolves over time with the direct help of Joe.
Once following Joe back to Earth and entering his body, 22 begins to understand what it means to bear a human soul, enter the zone of passionate euphoria, and find true happiness. 22 also helps Joe to understand that life itself is more meaningful than any predetermined lot in life.
Joe Gardner
Whether in human form, the spiritual realm, or in the body of an adorable housecat, Jamie Foxx's Joe Gardner is the most lovable character in Soul. The entire film revolves around his spiritual evolution from a man unhappy with his lot in life to a person determined to follow his true passion.
What makes Joe so relatable is his kindness, compassion, and unselfishness as he learns that it's just as important to allow 22 to enter Earth as a living soul than it is for his own survival.