Disney and Pixar's animated film, Soul, was released on Christmas day, 2020. The movie is about a middle-aged musician and band teacher, Joe Gardner, who is trying to find his passion and purpose in life. After an unexpected turn of events, Gardner's soul goes through a series of events that teach him about the meaning of his life. In the process of learning about his purpose on Earth, he helps another wayward soul find its purpose. Without giving away any major spoilers, the movie was hands down one of the best animated Pixar/Disney films I have seen in a long time.

For starters, the animation was amazingly intricate. Every detail was so well animated; sometimes I wondered if the scene I was looking at animation or reality. The portrayal of New York City was very well executed from the everyday mundanity and absurdity of the subway to its famous pizza.

The movie itself was able to teach so many lessons about life and humanity; I was close to shedding a couple of tears at different points! I was amazed at how well the movie touched on several complicated subjects and managed to narrate them efficiently so that even young kids could understand. Soul was a 'soul-touching movie', and it made me stop and think about how grateful I am to be alive on this Earth and to be given a chance at life. I can count the number of movies on one hand that have made me feel like Soul did.

I recommend this movie to everyone and urge you to watch it if you get the opportunity. I think Soul was the perfect movie to watch on the first day of the new year, and I really hope that the good vibes of this movie can set the tone for the rest of 2021.