Pixar are well known for tugging at the heartstrings, and if one of the animation studio’s movies hasn’t left you with at least a tear running down your cheek, then quite frankly, you’re dead on the inside. Indeed, if you didn’t cry at Toy Story 3‘s hugely emotional climax, the tender final moments of WALL-E or the gut-punching ending of Coco, then one of Pete Docter’s directorial efforts would have surely done the trick.
The Pixar veteran apparently goes out of his way to create some of the most powerful moments in the history of animated cinema, from Bing Bong’s tragic sacrifice in Inside Out to the absolutely devastating montage from Up. And so, when it was announced that he was helming Soul, a lot of viewers familiar with his work already had their tissues packed and ready to go.
Unfortunately, they had to wait a little bit longer than expected after the movie was delayed several times before being released onto Disney Plus on Friday, but the film is packed with emotional and heartfelt moments, not to mention some beautifully existential visuals and the rich vein of humor that’s characterized Pixar for the last quarter of a century. Viewers simply weren’t ready for it, either, based on some of the online reactions, which you can check out below.
https://twitter.com/onlyrons/status/1344012486333358080
https://twitter.com/koreyb_asic/status/1343989665796386816
https://twitter.com/mummin2girlies/status/1343982814807662592
https://twitter.com/RNghtlvs/status/1343960478117220358
https://twitter.com/dej_h/status/1343958497361338368
https://twitter.com/ASStheticmavi/status/1343882168594927616
https://twitter.com/timidtimes3/status/1343828733761732609
https://twitter.com/crimsncringe/status/1343790458284040192
i hate the disney industrial complex but damn soul made me cry
— brianna (@lostbrianna) December 29, 2020
Soul is the first movie in a long time to make me cry and relate so strong to the message. Disney truly out did themselves
— Aniel (@aamolina99) December 29, 2020
‘Soul’ on Disney+ made me cry
— C h r i s P e r e z (@ChrisMcNugget) December 29, 2020
Soul is another unqualified triumph for Pixar, and they may as well hand over the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature already because nothing else released this year even comes close. It continues an incredible hot streak that’s seen seven of their last nine efforts score at least 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, once again reaffirming a long-held reputation as the undisputed masters of the genre.