I will always say that Pixar is the king of animated movies. But they are not immune to mis-steps or even slight duds. I was looking forward to Soul and planned to watch it when it came out on Christmas but that didn’t happen. So it’s taken until now for me to catch up.

The movie’s main character is a music loving man named Joe Gardner. He really wants to be a famous jazz musician, but he’s now limited to teaching it in school. One day he hears of an opportunity to get a big break, but something unexpected happens, he dies.

Before he knows it he is a soul about to go to the great beyond. Having an extreme will to live, he tries his best to avoid the most permanent thing all living things eventually go to. And he’s surprisingly successful.

But his attempt to go back to Earth and get his body back go moot pretty quickly. Instead he conveniently signs up to mentor a soul bound to be a baby. Except the soul named 22 will prove to be a very difficult being to convince to join the living on Earth.

I was a little disappointed by Soul, but it has been well-received by most critics and fans alike. But compared to other Pixar films, I found it lacks the imagination found in most of the others. I also found the plot to be a little predictable too. It’s an enjoyable film, but far from Pixar’s best.

Score: B-