I hate Pixar's Soul

I hated Pixar's "Soul".

i. Set up

I had the sense I was going to hate it from the trailer alone, but right off the bat something was unsettling. In the trailer, one sees Joe (the main character) teaching his music class. That is how the movie starts: the opening of the movie is almost entirely ripped from the trailer. The movie just starts with Joe interacting with characters who, we will find out, have absolutely nothing to do with the plot.

It's odd, because a film usually starts with the audience getting to know a character on a personal level. A character is usually with family or friends, or enemies or rivals. None of those kids care at all about Joe. Similarly, Joe has no specific relationship to any one student (except possibly one, though we find out that he really doesn't). All we get is that Joe really likes jazz and... he's kinda unlikeable. (I mean, his students clearly do not like him.)

Furthermore, none of the characters we see up to the point of his death are important at all to the plot. They neither help him nor hinder him in the course of the film. And from start to finish he always wants to get to the all-important jazz gig.

I guess some of them hurt his feelings in the course of the film. Boo-hoo.

The plot of the film is, Joe needs to cross the afterlife and get to the music gig on time. What gets in the way of his journey? Uhh... nonsensical rules. How does time proceed in the afterlife? We don't know. Why can't he go back to Earth? Something about needing a badge. Why does he help 22? I guess he had the notion that helping 22 get her badge would help him get back to Earth. How does he get back to Earth? 22 knows a pirate who can go back to Earth.

Uhhh... what?

One thinks Joe would have to understand the rules of the afterlife to cleverly get himself out. I mean, that is what happens in every Pixar film, literally. Instead he get puppeted around: the afterlife bureaucrats lead him to one place and then 22 to the next, and then finally when he does reach Earth his actions are largely controled by the threats of the jazz musician Dorothea.

It's also hard to convey how much the film makes things up to get into or out of a situation. At one point in time, Joe thinks a cat makes for a sufficient barber. In another, Joe thinks the only person who can fix pants is his mother, who just happens to be extremely disapproving of him.

And then 22 becomes a tentacle monster or something way after the audience forgot about the afterlife and its mechanics.

It's a mess.

ii. Themes

Seeing that Joe's only character trait is that he really liked jazz, we can rule out there being any universal themes in "Soul".

Joe's father mentions that jazz is one of the great contributions of black culture, so I think it's fair for me to talk a bit about the film's relationship to black culture.

To clarify, I don't think I'm qualified to speak of black culture at length. However, it's hard not to be so frustrated at the film for being so reductive.

If you're going to make a film about jazz, the film should feature prominently the creative process by which jazz music is made. To simply say jazz is great is not at all a tribute to jazz. I highly doubt people like Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis will say "I feel so honored that people said jazz (not even my particular style, just all jazz) is great." It's well worth noting that jazz musicians were often at loggerheads with each other!

It would have been interesting if the film delved into the creative process or the history of black music in the first place, from delta blues to rock n' roll to soul music etc. etc. all the way up to rap, particularly the jazz-inspired rap innovated by A Tribe Called Quest.

"Jazz is great so black culture is great." Incredible.

"Frustrating" is not a sufficient word. No matter which side you fall upon in this cultural debate, I think we can all agree that reducing people to an exotic culture, and then praising the exotic qualities of that culture, is ... "backwards" is one word, but the more appropriate word is "stupid". And annoying.

Does anyone remember that Ray Charles film called "Ray"? I really like that film. You know why it's great? Because Ray Charles was a great and interesting musician, who happened to be black. There was a clear narrative, from humble beginnings to fame, and as cliche as it may be, you were at least interested in Ray's kinda-sorta-not-really life story.

So make that, Disney, instead of this wishy-washy BS.

iii. My idea

I actually had an idea for a better film before I saw the film. I already criticized the idea of a film that equated jazz with blackness (without considering all white jazz musicians such as George Gershwin and John McLaughlin) but the film's technical problems quickly exceeded any philosophy I had over the film.

If you want to make a film about jazz culture and have it appeal to a family, it might as well center around an accomplished jazz musician, someone who knows what they're doing. It's like "The Incredibles" but with jazz - Mr. Incredible-Jazz is down and out but he makes one last big effort to be incredible once more.

The film title is called (wait for it),

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Mingus!"

Pun intended.

Charles Mingus is a fascinating man and a true representation of jazz-musician-as-artist. Look no further than his autobiography to see how weird he is. He makes for a great character in a film centered around him.

Charles Mingus has just finished his magnum opus, "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady". He has reached the fame he has always desired in his career (probably not true to life, but whatever). In the course of his lifetime, as a result of his struggles with his career and with the public, he has become a remarkably jaded and temperamental man.

But just before Christmas, he has a change of heart and realizes that even though he has reached such artistic heights, he really wants to make an inspiring Christmas jazz album to celebrate his love for mankind. And in order to do this, he needs to gather acquaintances - and rivals - of his past, so long as his temper doesn't get in his way.

Is the idea corny? Yeah, it is. But in the premise is a veteran musician's true love for his craft and the image of the uncompromising artist using their art to touch people. And you can cover all sorts of real topics too, such as the simmering feud between Charles Mingus and Miles Davis (where else are you going to find a trumpeteer on Christmas?), and Mingus's admiration for Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker, constantly asking himself, "What would the Duke and Bird do?"

I would prefer this imaginary movie over the mess that was Pixar's "Soul".