The race to Oscar nominations has officially ended. Nominations are out, and all there is left to do now is wait for the ceremony and root for our favorites. Overall, the nominations were pretty solid- a few heavy snubs, but that’s nothing new with the Academy. Pixar’s Soul, a front-runner for Best Animated Feature, picked up three Oscar nominations (Best Original Score, Achievement in Sound, and Best Animated Feature), in a year that was otherwise fairly quiet for animated releases. Soul, a warm and jazzy movie led by Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey, explores what it means to have a soul and be alive. It’s a gentle, passionate movie about finding what makes you tick and keeps you going, and understanding that your “purpose” in the world doesn’t have to be groundbreaking.

Pixar’s animation is always top-notch, but there’s something particularly incredible about Soul’s animation. It’s bright and beautifully rendered, making some scenes feel almost real. New York City brownstones are bathed beautifully in the sun, floorboards of walk-up apartments have just the right layer of dust. It really and truly feels like some shots were straight from life, but they weren’t. The main character, Joe, and his family look distinctly life-like: all of their movements are thoroughly human, like the flick of a wrist while sweeping with a broom or the way lips spread into a smile. Tina Fey’s “22” is similarly beautifully animated, though she is far from human. 22 is meant to be a soul, one who does not see the point in going to Earth and becoming human. 22’s apathy is what sets the plot forward, after Joe’s sent into the afterlife and the soul realm. Their relationship builds slowly, becoming a full friendship by the end of the film. Soul explores the central ideas of Coco in a different, much more artistic way. Still, it’s exciting and moving, full of laughter and bright, beautiful music. But most importantly, Soul reminds us what it is to be alive: what it is to be passionate, what it is to love life completely and fully.

A core component of Soul is music. More specifically, jazz. Joe is an avid lover of jazz, and spends the start of the movie desperately looking for gigs as a jazz musician between his shifts teaching band at an elementary school. Jazz is the backbone of Soul. It’s embedded in every moment, every breath, and it’s gorgeous. The score is composed by my personal favorites, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, while John Batiste composed a number of original jazz songs. I can confidently say that, while I'm a fan of pretty much all music, I don’t listen to jazz. Still, listening to the score of Soul makes me love jazz. It’s fun! It’s lively! It’s full of heart and charisma and everything good about music. It’s the clear standout of Soul, not just within the story, but as its own entity as well.

The sound design of Soul is excellent, too. The film takes place in New York City (when it's occurring on Earth), so the sounds of the city are woven into it at every fiber. Scenes are bursting with car horns, clattering trains, pedestrians shouting and laughing and talking. Music from buskers wafts down the street, following Joe and 22. It’s all so loud and bright and fun, fully deserving of a sound design nomination.

Still, excellent score and sound design do not make a perfect movie. I think the characters, screenplay, and film as a whole had far more potential than what was used. Comparing it to other movies about feelings, life, and death- such as smash-hits Inside Out and Coco-, Soul comes off as sort of underwhelming. It’s still warm and pleasant and lovely, but it could’ve been more. It’s understated in a way that it doesn't have to be, which I think pulled some of the cathartic release I was waiting for away from me. Necessary worldbuilding is lacking, making the whole film feel less sturdy than Pixar films that came before it. Soul isn’t entirely sure where to settle in its own world, which is the root of all of its issues. Still, Soul is a pretty good movie. It’s a Pixar film, and when you’re going into a Pixar film, you expect a certain caliber and quality. I can assure you that Soul is that quality, but I can’t assure you that it will leave you feeling completely satisfied.

Rating: A-. Soul looks beautiful and sounds even better, but necessary plot points are lacking. Still, it’s better than a B+, so I would think it lands somewhere in the realm of A-. Soul is fun, and Jamie Foxx is a great voice-acting talent, but the movie itself is just a little underwhelming.

Soul is available on Disney+ 

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

In this book, John Piper talks about how to develop our relationship with Jesus and how to live our life. I feel like with 10 chapters the point is made clearly. It also tells a story about the author's life and how he learned things from his dad. I felt like I learned a lot from this book and I recommend it to others.  I give this book a 4/10.