A middle school music teacher (voice of Jamie Foxx) who yearns to be a jazz pianist gets his big break when he’s invited to join a highly regarded quartet (its leader voiced by Angela Bassett). But just before his first performance with them, an accident leaves his body in a coma and sends his spirit into the afterlife. His efforts to avoid going to heaven and return to his earthly existence bring him instead to the realm where the personalities of future babies are formed. There, he’s assigned to mentor a soul (voice of Tina Fey) who has stubbornly refused to be born for centuries. Director and co-writer Pete Docter’s animated blend of drama and comedy is mostly free of objectionable material and sends the positive messages that life is well worth living and that its significance transcends an individual’s professional accomplishments. Yet his film’s depiction of the other world, made up of both a Great Beyond and a Great Before, is sterile and potentially confusing for impressionable viewers. Acceptable for well-catechized older teens. Mature themes, a couple of mild oaths, a single crass term. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
Soul
