Soul Review: Racism & Disney - *SPOILERS* - This movie is RACIST.

Soul Review: Racism & Disney - This video is an antiracist review of the Disney & Pixar movie, Soul, for antiracist parents and teachers. As a follow up in our Antiracist Media Literacy Analysis series, the host of The Antiracism Academy, Brandee Blocker Anderson, argues that “Disney hates Black People" and gives an antiracist review of the Disney & Pixar movie Soul, which was released on Disney Plus in December 2020. This Pixar Soul review contains spoilers, so please be warned if you have not seen Pixar' Soul. Watch the Pixar Soul Trailer, and you'll have spent the appropriate amount of time watching this movie.

If you're committed to antiracist parenting and antiracist education, then Soul is a great movie for unpacking and dissecting anti-Blackness in children's content. Jamie Foxx, Soul's leading man, has his body taken over by Tina Fey, like the character in the movie Get Out. Like in the Princess in the Frog, Jamie Foxx's character does not appear in his human form for a good portion of the film, and when he does Tina Fey plays his character, while he plays a cat. This movie highlights examples of Disney racism in movies, Disney racist moments, Pixar racism, and Pixar racist storytelling in Soul. The Pixar Soul ending leaves much to be desired, and the film utterly lacks Soul.

00:00 - Introduction
00:31 - Part I - Will audiences watch if they’re Black the whole time?
02:17 - Part II - Is a Black man's life worth living?
06:05 - Part III - Soul & Misogynoir
08:46 - Part IV - What does Soul have to say about race?
09:21 - Super Racist Sequence
10:09 - Conclusion

**Purchase Antiracist Children Books**

“It’s Because of Melanin”

“What is Race?”

“Put Some Respect on My Name”

“What is White Privilege?”

Check out some of our other related videos:

#antiracist #antiracisteducation #antiracist #racism #parents #parenting #teacher #teaching

[torynkelly]

Thank you for the time you took to put this together. You put so much good information into this short video for the world! I’ve been reading and thinking about this take on the movie (and totally agree with everything you’ve said wholeheartedly) and thought that another damning aspect to this mess was that they literally chose Tina freaking Fey. She’s gotten plenty of public backlash for performing Blackface in the past and i CANNOT wrap my mind around Disney’s casting crew being like “Yeah, ThAtS a good idea, can’t imagine why she shouldn’t essentially voice a Black man for the better part of the entire film.” What???? It feels deliberate at a certain point. Ugh. Anyways, i shared your video to my Facebook, and i hope it continues to gain traction. Off to watch the rest of your content!!! ♥️

[tejayjr.]

As a black man I don’t agree with anything you have said in this video. You made great points but none I noticed while watching the movie. The movie reminded me of depression and how to get away from your own negative thoughts and to be happy with what you have or don’t have.

[Hehe-ntoe]

9:20 I don’t really feel like you understand what is going on in this scene. The death guy sees Joe around the corner and opens up his death portal thing, expecting Joe to walk there. It had nothing to do with the race of the other guy who walked by.

[thewazup]

Sorry in advance for the essay.

This movie had very little to do with race in the first place, the main character was black and he was in a black community, that's where it ends. You mentioned that a black character saying he could or should die is racist is just too extreme.
Self-sacrifice is a concept that has nothing to do with race, it's simply something that is almost always used as a climactic moment in movies like this one. By adding the idea that it's racist to self-sacrifice just because one is black and the other is white leads to further separation of the races and makes it seem like anyone dying for someone of another race is inherently racist.

Second, you keep saying 22 was white when she was literally a shapeshifting blob of potential as the movie described it. You can say "She sounds like a white woman so she is a white woman" but when you watch a movie, especially animated, you take what you are given because that is the screenwriter's intention. They intended for 22 to be neutral in every way but of course, you need someone to voice it and that ended up being Tina Fey. You're stretching away from the artwork to assume she's white even when that is clearly not shown.

You also say that 22 opted to stay as a soul and move around when again, that is not what the movie shows. It clearly shows in the middle and end of the movie that she has always wanted to go to earth but she was both scared of the world and could never find her reason to live, her spark, no matter how hard or how many people tried to show her. She didn't "choose" she was just scared and confused so she stayed where she's comfortable.

This leads me to a major confusion I think you had about the movie. Joe's spark was never music or jazz or even teaching. A "spark" isn't a purpose in life or something that is obviously your path in life. It's the will to live, the ability to see small beautiful things and feel even more drive to keep living to see more passion inducing things. Joe didn't take his life for granted, he hyper-focused on one aspect that made life great and was blind to the rest of the world. He didn't die because of a plan but because he just simply died. He decided he was okay with staying dead because he had his try at life and realized that there is more to life than just jazz. But out of pure kindness, the nice "fairies" gave him the chance to experience what he realized he missed. No pity, no sadness, he just got an opportunity to expand his horizons.

So yes, it might seem crappy that they blamed Joe for saying 22 only got her spark because she was in his body. But what he said wasn't true. He said that believing that she liked music because he did and that was her spark. He didn't realize that a spark is just a childlike fascination with life and that's what 22 got from experiencing earth, not because of his body. The movie explored concepts deeper than race, that's at least what I believe.

[seentv]

good review
But i don't agree with you at all.

[Mimi-wbel]

Honestly it’s kinda sad that you missed the main point of this film, it wasn’t about race at all. Yes there are issues that black people deal with on the daily but it has nothing to do with this film and you are definitely reaching because it’s not that deep concerning you points.
You had responded to someone in the comments saying “what person in Their right mind would give Their life for a spirit they just met? That’s not how real people behave that’s morbid he had everything to live for and Tina feys character never wanted to be born at all” a which is what showed me that you missed the whole message of the movie being so hyper focused on your anti-racism agenda.

[Mardello]

Ok couple of counter points:

Characters being turned into 'blue sperm cells' is part of the logic of the movie, people of all races are converted to this blue amorphous form when they die. At the start when Joe initially finds himself on the ramp to the great beyond he meets other people who of various racial backgrounds that we can't even be sure of as we can only go by their voices. However there were at least 2 instances in that scene of characters speaking a foreign language. Why does this whole conversion happen? I'm not sure maybe because the creators wanted to come up with something more creative than just having everyone's physical form reappear in the after life? Maybe like 22 says the entire thing is a hypothetical construct so physical attributes in that dimension don't matter? Either way, everyone is being treated the same as part of the logic of the story what would you have preferred?

The writer's chose to mix up Joe and 22's souls into the cat and Joe's body respectively because that's what makes sense in the narrative. 22's main issue is that she doesn't want to experience life. So then it would be most interesting in narrative sense for 22 to experience human life in a Joe's body. 22 is a human soul that is meant to eventually be sent to earth to live a human life, not only would it have less of an impact for 22 to inhabit the cat's body it also wouldn't make sense. It's also implied that the people around Joe hear Joe's voice not 22's (Tina Fey) the creators have taken the creative liberty to allow the audience to hear Tina Fey's voice so that we don't get confused listening to Joe speak to Joe whilst representing himself and 22. If you believe that 'true' representation means the literal representation of the physical character as a black man then the story could not have worked since the concept of conversion in the after life and body mix up are essential to the logic of the world and the logic of the narrative. Personally I didn't have a problem connecting with Joe's character as when he was a cat we were (as well as Joe) were able to see the sides of him that Joe himself would not acknowledge. Through 22's interaction with Dez in Joe's body we learned that Joe is actually quite self absorbed about himself and his passion for Jazz to the point that he never bothers to inquire about the lives of people in his life. Joe could only realize this when his ego was externally removed from the interaction and he could only observe and self reflect. This allows for character development. I don't know about you but that creates a much richer and realistic character to connect and resonate with than the constant visual reminder that he is a black man.

When Joe dies its implied that was simply his time. There wasn't any universal machination manipulating his death. Joe was destined to die minutes after he got his big break. I was actually surprised because of how true to life the portrayal was. People die at any time due to anything there is no justification there are many people who die with loose ends and what ifs, many potentials cut short. Everything up to Joe escaping into the Great Before was the norm. Joe's life story should have ended there as a tragedy. 22 says she 'opted out' choosing not to live but we learn later that she couldn't go to earth because she wasn't ready to live. Getting one's spark is part of the checklist in the You Seminar towards being ready to live. 22 says herself (and the story confirms) that she believes that the real reason she never got an earth pass is because she never believed she was good enough to live on earth. Joe doesn't gaslight 22, 22 gaslights herself through her anxieties and insecurities and adds extra destructive details to Joe's comments that didn't happen. This isn't to vilify Joe but to represent how her anxieties and insecurities twist reality to keep her depressed. And this is an expression of how mental issues of anxiety, insecurity and depression can manifest. The scene with Dez is an admonition of Joe as a person, not just as a black man, it demonstrates how narrowly Joe viewed the world only focusing on himself and HIS passions and not inquiring about the people and community around him. This is a problem every person faces not just black, white asian etc. Finally like I said above Joe didn't have a choice to live or die because he died at his fated time. He was able to go on this journey with 22 briefly but ultimately his fate was sealed when he fell into the manhole and he would eventually have to return to the great beyond. Even if he went back into his body through the thin spot in the Zone Terry would find him. Remember Terry says to Joe 'You cheated' and from what we know from Terry's character he would not let that slide as it's his responsibility to keep the count accurate. So it is implied that if Joe managed to 'escape' his fate Terry would track him down eventually. The intervention from the Jerrys is true cosmic intervention giving him a second chance that they didn't have to give. Also would you rather Joe literally steal a person's chance at life for his own personal goals? Isn't that a much more problematic outcome to associate with black men?

[АринаКружкова-кс]

Why you've decided that 22 character is white? At the end of the film, you can see that she landed in Asia. I think it was China or India (I don't remember exactly) Furthermore, it's unknown if it is a woman or not, because it could change his voice and it took this voice of a young girl because it sounds annoying.

[Rionell]

While I do understand why race is a big and important subject in the US, I (a European), didn’t see it that way. I only saw two flawed characters who learned from each other, like any good buddy movie should be like.

[billcai]

I feel like the movie is not really about Joe being a black man but as an unfulfilled man. In other words, it's not about a white women teaching a black man how to live, but someone who's never lived before teaching someone who is currently alive how to live. That being said, I agree that (Especially towards children, who are learning how the world works) this could build some underlying racist tones. To sum it up, I don't think Disney intended the movie to be racist, but you do have a point in some of the more detailed analysis. Although giving credit where credit is due, many of my black peers have praised the movie for the accurate representation of black people in terms of how they look.

[Mindcontroledbyyou]

Sorry I was cringing at the whole video cause there were to many holes in it. 1 it's not a black movie but a fantasy movie with a black lead. 2 the blue blobs have no race so 22 isn't white. It was a joke in the movie about why she sound like a middle aged woman. 3 22 wasn't a better black man, but a better person. Joe talked about himself when she talked about the barber and his story. 4 joe wasn't sacrificing himself for a white woman cause again she's not white. He wants her to have a chance at life cause she wants it and he didn't want to take that away from her. If they took black culture and issues and shoved it in your face it wouldn't feel like a disney movie. I don't know if you really feel this way or if it's just for content.

[DragoV]

So I feel the need to give my POV because I feel like message of the movie wasn't just about being black
If anything this movie was all about appreciating life. I'll bring this up by mentioning for a fact that 22, the soul that Joe talks to for most of the movie is literally a soul that felt that is wasn't good enough to live. It's only when it walks a mile in Joe's shoes (very literally mind you) that they understand that there's a lot to live for. Another thing to note, 22 is is technically non binary. You mention how Joe has to give himself up for a white woman in order for her to live, but in the movie 22 literally says they chose that voice because it annoys people. For the entire time 22 was in Joe's body they felt emotions and other sensations for the first time in thousands of years.

The you seminar could only do so much in terms of finding a soul's spark. 22 had to physically be on earth to understand the beauty of living. Breathing, taking in different scents, tasting different things, seeing the simple beauty of watching leaves fall. There was nothing like that in the great before. So when it came time to put Joe back in his body and for 22 to go back to the great before, they freaked out and ran off because they found a reason to live and didn't think they'd get a chance too live if they went back because 22 didn't know they'd ever find their spark.

And let's not pretend that Joe was a saint, he basically wanted to cheat death by finding a new soul's spark taking it and heading back to earth. And once they make it back to the great before and it's revealed that 22 found their spark after using Joe's body to discover how wonderful life is they gave Joe the earth badge because that was their deal and Joe sort of left only thinking of himself. It's only when he gets back into his body and plays the set in the quartet that he realizes that while his dream did come true, it didn't make him feel as happy as he thought it would.

Once he realizes that he had extreme tunnel vison on his goals he takes a step back and looks at all the stuff that 22 picked up while they were in Joe's body. Joe then thinks back to how he referred to all the things 22 enjoyed about life as just "regular living". While it may seem mundane to him, 22 saw the beauty in every little thing. He then goes back to the great before and helps 22 understand that they do deserve to live and to get them to make that leap of faith Joe goes with 22 through the portal as far as he can to see them off.

When the Jerry's give Joe a second chance and ask him what he's going to do with it, he says that he's going to live every minute of it. And it was a beautiful message. Now I agree that more black led animated films could have their characters remain human for the film, but in this case the movie wasn't about black culture. To me, Soul was about enjoying every minute of your life and not taking it for granted.

I'm not sure if this would change your mind and I don't expect it to, I just wanted to share my point of view on this film because I felt that it was perfect the way it was.

[taneshabrowdy]

It's unfortunate that your point was lost in your fixation on Tina Fey, rather than the character she played.

[eddiebcfc]

This film has nothing to do with the colour of his skin. It is about how he loves music and wants to be a professional jazz musician and how people keep putting him down and telling him to be realistic which is very relatable for everyone no matter the colour of your skin.

[porozil]

Ayo stop sending my comments to the shadow realm
Seems you went into this movie with the mindset that "Disney is racist and they are trying to bring black people down with this movie" instead of just watching and enjoying the movie for its plot and morals. It's a very unhealthy way to watch movies in my opinion. Just try to enjoy the movie and not spend the whole time spotting little details that might hint towards racism.

[wujumbo]

Also 22 was voiced by Tina Fey with a character wasn't even technically a actual race or a person yet she was still just a ghost not a human not of Earth a ghost. She's not even an actual race yet.

[adinduncan]

Thank you for taking the time to put this together. I thinks great to see a different opinion out there than the high praise from the general public. However as much as I agree that there are issues in the film, I don’t think I can agree that I found any of them to be race based. And before I continue I should acknowledge that I myself am a black man and aspiring filmmaker/animator so I can totally relate to the plights and issues that you present in this video. I have experienced prejudice first hand. And I don’t in anyway shape or form want this comment to be taken as an attack or critique of your overall opinion, the last thing I wanna do is tear a fellow critic in the black community down. I just hope to provide a different side of the coin and explain why this story resonated with me so much and why I think it’s a good flick.

For starters I actually really enjoyed the body switch way more than I thought I would. I totally agree with your point about black characters switching bodies with animals in animated media’s . I agree that it is a trope that has kept me from fully enjoying other films like The princes and the frog or spies in disguise. It’s a tired trope that Hollywood needs to drop. However I think this movie works unlike the others by providing a reasonable thematic reason for the switch. One of the central themes of the film focuses on the simple relationship between a soul that doesn’t wanna live vs a soul that doesn’t wanna die. I think the only way to convince the former in this scenario is actually having them go and live life. I don’t think the film could have them stay in the great before and have her find her spark their without feeling cheap and forced. In order to properly change 22’s perspective on earth she needs to experience it firsthand. To put it in the movies terms “she needs to be in the chair”. And I don’t think the film could have 22 go in the cats body instead because if so joe wouldn’t learn anything. In order for the second act of this movie to work joe need to rethink his life in a new and meaningful way, and the only way to do that is for him to have an outside view of his life. With joe in the cat he can now take time to reflect on how he’s been so laser focused on his passion that he’s neglected the relationships with his friends and family. The scene where he talks to the barber is important because 22 isn’t being “blacker” than joe she pointing out how his obsession hasn’t made him the best friend of late.

Another thing I appreciated in the film was its representation when it came to the characters. For starters I think it’s amazing to see characters in an animated film that look and act like me. It’s cool to see curly wear Jordan’s, it was cool to hear check the rhyme being played in the barbershop and it was cool to see joe kiss his aunties whenever he sees them. Stuff like that never came across as pandering to me but more authentic. They made a movie about our culture and community without making it about our struggle it’s refreshing to see. Joes arc doesn’t rely on his struggle as a black man it relies as his struggles as a person and his overall wants and needs. I see the moments of racial hardships you saw in the film. For instance the cab line is I saw as a throw away joke about how it’s hard for just about anybody to hail a cab in the middle of the day in New York. As a NJ resident that moment got a chuckle from me.

Plus I totally like the representation of our black women as well. I never saw Libba or Dorothea come across as mean angry black women. I thought Dorothea was a no nonsense badass that didn’t have time to take shit from anyone. I found her serious tone a sign of how serious she takes her career that she’s dominating in. Plus i think it’s awesome to see a black female lead jazz player in a film when so many real lead female players have often fallen to the wayside of history. And as far as libba’s concerned I thought she was really just using tough love as she didn’t wanna see her son make the same mistakes as his late father as she doesn’t hate his passion or life choices but worry that he might be sustainable. I think it’s a little unfair to write off theses characters as angry or one dimensional when the film shows the layers each of them possess.

As far as the argument is concerned with terry and Paul. I didn’t see it the same way you did. I doubt a big company like them would keep in a throw away joke about racial profiling especially in todays modern climate. I don’t think the bit really relies on the characters race more so the circumstance. Terry noticed Paul and joe talking around the corner so she sets up a trap thinking joes gonna step in once done talking. This plan fails however as she isn’t watching who’s waking thought it only anticipating joe to fall in. The bit continues to work when Paul falls down in the “sunken place” and Terry’s berating him he has his back turned to her the whole time not showing his face it’s only she yanks out his soul she sees the misunderstanding. The bit works for me because the punchline isn’t “haha all black people look alike” it’s “haha Terry’s an idiot overzealous with her plans and watch what she’s doing”. Plus the joke also works because we seen in earlier scenes that Paul’s kind of a jerk. He constantly throws shade a joe in the shop, he’s constantly Hatin on his dreams and trying to bring him down, so in return it’s fun to see some sort of comeuppance come his way.

Another thing about your argument that I didn’t agree with was your problem with 22. The film goes out its way to character as an unborn soul with no race or gender. The only reason she sounds like a “middle aged white lady” is because it’s a voice she uses to annoy people with. The film explains how she can use any other voice she wants. Although Tina fey voice comes out of joe in certain durations of the movie, she’s still playing her 22 joe. And I don’t think it would be so easy to have Jamie Foxx voice both rolls during the duration of this segment because it might be a little too confusing for the audience to keep track on who’s who.

And as far as the ending is concerned I think its really the the thing that ties the whole movie together. Throughout the whole film joe Gardner’s been trying to run from the true villain of the picture which is death itself. Fate catches joe fair and square at the beginning of the movie and he’s meant to die. Joes whole thing in the movie is that he can’t die yet because he hasn’t “done anything” with his life. I find it really unique that his arc relies on his newfound perspective on life. Throughout the movie joe thinks that This one big Gig will culminate with a grandiose feeling of purpose and fulfillment. I think it’s great that when it’s al said and done although joe feels good about his accomplishments he isn’t fulfilled purposely. It’s only when he reflects on his life while playing piano that he truly realizes that life isn’t about one grand moment it’s about the little things like love, loss, and family that make life worth living. And it’s then he realizes that he in face HAS live a good fulfilling life. And realizes that by continuing to live on earth with 22’s pass he in fact is stealing her life from her as she hasn’t gotten to experience it for herself. At the end of the day joes had his time. And although 22 and joe had made a deal earlier in the film she earned he pass fair and square and now has a newfound love for the world. She totally deserves to to go live her life. It come across less as sacrifice for our white lead than our main character realizing the truth about his life. It only make joe come across as noble for finally writing a wrong he had done to his friend. Plus I like how the movie rewards joe for his deeds by giving him a second chance after all his hard work and with his newfound worldview he’s gonna spend less time worrying about his future and more time focusing on his present.


I found it strange and disheartening how u wrote off the movie as a morbid story that glorifies suicide. In my opinion I found it the complete opposite. Souls a film that encourages the audience to go out and appreciate life not taking it for granted. It’s a story about how instead of looking at the big picture of things we should take a step back and live in the present and take each day to the fullest.

I think it’s a little unfair to write of Pixar as a whole racist. Many talented black artist animations and writers put a lot of care in to crafting this. Kemp Powers the writer/ co director had a lot of creative influence on the story as well as an inner studio culture trust made up of Pixar employees and a outer studio culture trust made up of black actors directors and anthropologist like Dr. Johnnetta Cole in order to get insight on the black community.

However, at the end of the day I can’t change how you feel about the movie and the issue you saw present. Your entitled to your own opinion and I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree. I understand that at the end of the day the movie wasn’t your cup of tea. It can be a little slow and dialogue based and certain points and I know stuff like that’s not for everyone. I again just wanted to offer up a different opinion and show what I got out of it. Hope this give opportunity for more discussion. In your review talked about how this is a disturbing message for kids and that they shouldn’t watch. I however really hope the future generations of young black storytellers look at this movie and get inspired enough to share their stories that way we can get more representation of our people on the big screen. Thanks again, and I hope to see more thoroughly executed videos like this from you future

[ZoewithanE_]

I dont think you quite got the movie...
Nothing in it had anything to do with race and he was only a "blue sperm cell" for like a quarter of the movie.

Also did you expect them not to have the actress of 22 speak for her own role? It would be confusing for Joe's voice to be talking to Joe's voice for most of the movie with no easy to tell difference.

The scene where the wrong person goes into the "death portal" has nothing to do with race it was just Terry making a mistake and putting the portal in the wrong place.

(Edit I have nothing against black people and different people in general, heck I'm part of the LGBTQ community I'd be a hypocrite if had a go at someone for being different but when you call out something that's doing nothing wrong and claim to be "fighting the good fight" that's when I'll retaliate and this movie did nothing wrong.)

[fpz]

I think you’re tremendously overthinking a film, but interesting points, regardless.

[Sean-vj]

I understand everything you said in this video, I understand your viewpoint completely. I absolutely disagree with it, but I understand it. The only thing you said that I think is objectively wrong is when you said “we never get the sense Joe realises he has something to live for”. I think the scene of him improvising on the piano, having flashbacks of his life and the little moments in it made him realise that just being alive is a beautiful which he seems to appreciate more now, which makes his sacrifice even more heartbreaking. The movie even ends on him saying he doesn’t know what he’ll do with the rest of his life but he’s “gonna live every second of it”. I felt this arc of him learning to appreciate living in the moment rather than living for one life changing moment (which the movie represents as the concert) was fully realised and explored. Maybe I’m wrong, who knows? Either way I hope you consider my thoughts. Great video!