7 Lessons from Soul + Discussion Questions and Parent Review

7 Lessons from Soul + Soul Discussion Questions written by the Elf and the Ent.
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Know Before You Watch the movie Soul

Movie: Soul
Rating: PG
Run time: 1 hr. 30 mins.
Genre: Family, Comedy
Age suggested: 5 and up
Release Date: December 25th, 2020
Where to Stream It?: As of December 25th, it is streaming exclusively to Disney Plus subscribers at no additional cost.
Themes: Purpose, Drive, Beauty of Life and Music
Warnings: Main plot revolves around a character who has died, slight toilet and crude humor, minimal scary images. And, as with any Pixar/Disney movie, have those tissues handy.

Quick Summary of the movie Soul:

Joe Gardener is passionate about Jazz but not as excited about his teaching gig. He is just about to fulfill his lifelong dream when something goes terribly wrong and he ends up in the Soul world. He’s got to figure out how to help someone else as well as himself before he can get back to earth.

While the movie goes to incredibly deep and sometimes confusing depths in it’s plot, it’s a beautiful watch for the whole family! This movie is one that will naturally spark great conversations about your passions, differences, dreams, and hopefully even about your Creator.

Keep reading for our parent review of soul and 7 lessons from soul…

Parent Review of Soul
*Minimal Spoilers*

-Is Soul appropriate?-

Besides a couple of crude (but fairly innocent) jokes, there isn’t much inappropriate in the movie. The movie does deal a lot with the concept of death and the afterlife, so be prepared to discuss this with your kids. There are a few image that might be a little scary for younger viewers- namely the lost souls- , but not nearly as scary as in most Disney/Pixar movies. And while younger viewers might be easily bored by the movie, I would not say that it’s inappropriate or very scary.

You can also get plushies for Joe here and 22 here!

-Plot/Story of the movie Soul-

The Story of Soul goes through several different twists and turns while having a consistent through line that lasts the entire movie. It may get a little complicated for younger viewers as it goes in and out of the Soul world. This is compensated for by the art style and design as the people and surroundings look very different in each world, which makes it a little easier to follow. Both styles are absolutely fantastic, balancing very well between cartoon and realism. (I loved this article by Crosswalk that talks about the fact that you might not be able to answer all of your or your kids questions about the plot of the movie- but there is still a TON to discuss!

Joe’s journey through the afterlife is absolutely wonderful. The plot follows him as he must learn what it truly means to live while also mentoring a being who has never understood why anyone would ever want to live on earth. Although not quite as emotional as other Pixar movies (which makes it more appropriate for whole family viewing), Soul is filled with just as much heart and passion. The plot is boldly complex, but not one that lost my kids or myself in the process.

-Character Development in Soul-

Joe and 22 are polar opposites at the beginning of the movie, and this provides a great backdrop for everything they go through. All of the characters, including the side ones, add so much depth to their respective worlds. The beings who are in charge of the soul world come of as completely different creatures than humans while still showing all the human like qualities. Perhaps the most heartbreaking characters are the “lost souls” because unfortunately they can be the most relatable for adults.

During a year when so much racism has been brought out into the sunlight, it’s great to see a leading family that’s Black and positive, happy, Black life stories. As a teacher, I really cannot stress the depth and importance of representation. It really does matter to kids. Not only does the movie do it well onscreen, but the cast and movie makers are diverse as well- and it’s wonderful!

Overall, the characters in Soul make for a great movie that simultaneously drags adults into the plot while remaining goofy and silly enough for the younger viewers.

Keep reading for our Lessons from Soul and Soul discussion questions.

7 Lessons from Soul
**SPOILERS Beyond This Point**

Another line to tell you that there are SPOILERS ahead!!

1) It’s the little things which make life beautiful

From the taste of pizza to the leaves of trees, there are so many things in our life that we really do find lovely that we have stopped appreciating. It is important to be intentional about taking the time to rediscover these things.

2) There’s always time to find your spark

22 shows us that there is always time to find your spark. She seemingly has been in the soul world for several millennia and simply never found her spark for life. Her impressive mentor list is so much fun. But she finds out that there is still time for her.

3) Life is worth living

Although life can have many setbacks and difficulties, it is also filled with potential, love, beauty and glory. We have to pay attention and look for it. At the end of film, Joe doesn’t exactly know what he wants to do with his life, but he does know one thing: he wants to live his life.

**I’d like to note here as well that I think the film did a good job bringing up things that keep us stuck in life, like depression, in a kid friendly, but also responsible way. The stuck, or lost, souls in the movie can’t just shake off whatever is literally plaguing them. They have to have help. And reader, if you’re stuck, now is the time to ask for help from a counselor or doctor- even reaching out to a trusted mentor or friend!**

4) Our different passions make us and life beautiful.

There is no one thing that gives everyone a spark, or that brings you to the plane between eternity and earth. And we don’t always understand each others.

Positive representation of diverse characters is important. I love that the lead in this movie was an Arts centric Black man with a cast of strong supportive females behind him. And that the secondary lead was voiced my a strong female. (There is also room her to discuss gender fluidity and that people all have souls and are all just people if it’s something you want to dive into with your kids after viewing.)

5) Our positive and negative words IMPACT people.

Joe’s mothers words stick with him in ways she didn’t intend. When he expresses that, there’s a beautiful moment of positive impact as well. Students talk about how much Joe has impacted their lives, even helping them get through school. The leaders of the souls are constantly working to inspire. And, in one of the more heartbreaking scenes, we see the words of past mentors that 22 has joked about as she really feels them- they torment her.

One of life’s most important lessons. Your life matters, and how you use your life and your words impacts others in ways you will never fully know.

6) You and your life are more than your spark and purpose.

Your spark and those moments of feeling your purpose are important and amazing. But life is about a lot more than those plateaus. Joe’s afraid that he’s wasted his life but when he looks back, he sees how beautiful and wonderful his life has been. And he’s been given the chance to appreciate all those little moments again.

There are lots of different things that can make us happy and help us bring joy to the world. Life is amazing! I would discuss with my kids again how God made each of us unique.

7) Achieving a dream, or starting a new year, doesn’t fix your life.

When one of the characters finally reaches what they’ve been wanting to get to- it’s not as fulfilling as they were expecting. It reminds me of Tangled when Rapunzel finally gets to see the lanterns fill up the night sky. Something she’s wanted for years. But it doesn’t solve her problems and now that she’s achieved her dream, what’s left? She enjoyed it, took stock of what was important, (got kidnapped again) and started to dream again. What a marvelous lesson (besides the kidnapping drama) as we go into a year that we’re collectively putting so much weight on. We can hope for a lot of wonderful, life-changing, positive moments in 2021- but it’s not going to heal all our underlying wounds by itself.

What did you take from this movie?! Keep reading for our Soul Discussion questions!

Soul Discussion Questions

1. Who was your favorite character in the movie and why?
2. Why do you think God give us different personalities when we’re born?
3. People have different things that allow them to enter the Soul world momentarily. What brings you enough happiness to enter that in between plane in the Soul world?
4. What is something simple in life that you underappreciate? (If younger kids: what things do you like that you do everyday?)
5. 22 finds herself surrounded by negative comments that were made to her. How does she overcome this negativity? How do you or can you overcome negativity?
6. Who are you a positive voice for? Who can you be a positive voice for in the future?
7. What is something you can appreciate in life now more than before after seeing this movie?
8. What is the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?
9. What is one of your dreams that you would like to accomplish?
10. What’s something that God’s gifted you with that feels like one of your sparks?

Final Thoughts

While it would have been amazing to see on the big screen, I can’t think of a better movie to watch at home with your whole family before the start of the new year. We would highly encourage you to watch this one WITH your kids and take some time to talk about your sparks and discuss happy moments and dreams together afterwards. You may no be able to answer every question about the story or plot- but don’t miss the amazing opportunity this movie provides us in talking about how amazing life and people are.

Thanks for checking out our Lessons from Soul and Soul Discussion Questions.
Before you go- check out these other posts:

–Parent review of Coco: A little boy with a love of music finds himself celebrating Dia De Muertes in an unexpecting way.

–5 Lessons from Frozen 2: the sequel to Disney’s big hit that dives further into the fantastical world of Arendelle

–3 Lessons From Trolls: World Tour: The worlds of music collide as rock music tries to take over all of the Troll worlds

–3 Lessons from Spies in Disguise: Tom Holland and Will Smith team up in this great movie about a bumbling engineering genius and world renowned spy.

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