History WesternAnimation / Soul

* RealityEnsues:
** Joe falls into a manhole. In most media, an accident like that would be easily brushed off and PlayedForLaughs. In this film, such a fall sends Joe into a comatose state where he's barely clinging to life. Subverted in that once he's back in his body he's running around seemingly with no injuries, broken bones, or any negative effects, not even a mild discomfort or sore muscle. Shocking for someone who was literally on the brink of death earlier that day.
** [[spoiler: While getting out of a cab, Dorothea sees 22 in Joe's body wearing nothing but a hospital gown. Instead of brushing it off as a one-time thing, she immediately decides he's mentally unfit for the gig and hires someone else. It's only after Joe takes back his body and talks to her before the gig that she changes her mind.]]
** After playing with Dorothea, [[spoiler: Joe wonders what happens next, and she answers they do the same thing every night. Realizing it sounds too much like routine, Joe voices how he hoped fulfilling his dream would make him feel different for once. It's Dorothea who has to spell it out that sometimes, fulfilling your dream isn't going to make your life more exciting all at once. It's but a milestone, and sometimes, you may not realize you're already living a good life.]]

** The final piece of footage is Terry popping up from beneath the screen and saying "Oi! Movie’s over! Go home!"
** For the score, [[spoiler: we hear the full song of the rap group Joe was in.]]

* AsHimself: An odd example, in which Creator/JohnRatzenberger has [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/pixar/images/c/cf/JR_In_Soul.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20210101213800 a non-speaking cameo role in an animated feature]].

* AsHimself: An odd example, in which Creator/JohnRatzenberger has a non-speaking cameo role in an animated feature.

** Moonwind states that [[spoiler: while his passion was Tetris, his main occupation is helping Lost Souls in "The Zone". This foreshadows that a passion & a purpose are not always the same thing]].

* GenderBlenderName: The cat is consistently called "Mr. Mittens" by the hospital staff, who thus apparently assume it is male. However, since it is a calico cat (a cat with both red and black fur), it must be a female cat.

* AmbiguousEnding: It isn't clear if [[spoiler: Joe chose to join Dorothea's band or become a full-time teacher after getting his second chance at life [[TakeAThirdOption (assuming he did either of those things)]]. He only says that he is going to live]]

* DoubleMeaningTitle: Referring both to [[{{Soul}} the genre of music]], which is Joe's passion, and the spiritual type of soul, with most of the movie centering around Joe trying to reunite his soul with his body.

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* EnfanteTerrible: When explaining how souls acquire their personality traits in the Great Before, a new soul is shown that has megalomaniacal, [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] and [[OpportunisticBastard opportunistic bastard]] traits, with Jerry [[BlackComedy laughing it off as Earth's problem]].

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Doubles as a FreezeFrameBonus. [[spoiler: When Terry returns Joe and 22 to the Great Before, 22 can be seen with an Earth Pass before Jerry points it out.]]

->''[[TheStinger Oi! Page's over! Go home!]]''

* AmbiguousEnding: It isn't clear if [[spoiler: Joe chose to join Dorothea's band or become a full-time teacher after getting his second chance at life [[TakeAThirdOption (assuming he did either of those things)]].]]

* WantingIsBetterThanHaving: After a lifetime of failures, close calls, and rejections, and spending the whole movie trying to make it back into his body, Joe finally [[spoiler: achieves his life long dream, plays with Dorothea Willaims in a show and gets hired to play with her quartet full time. Yet Joe still feels unfulfilled, and says that he expected it to feel different.]] Tying into the film's themes, this is because it's a worthwhile endeavor, but not the sole thing Joe should be living for.

MoodDissonance: Joe gets his big break playing for Dorothea Williams' quartet, makes his mother proud, and gets invited to join the band. However, since [[spoiler:he got there by angering 22 into giving up her Earth pass after she finally wanted to live, the whole thing rings hollow despite the triumphant tone, and Joe himself starts to have doubts after.]]

* ClingyMacguffin: New souls have a badge on their chest that tracks the traits and attributes they acquire over their development. Until it's completed and becomes an Earth Pass, it can't be removed from them for very long, always appearing back on their body in short order.

* HardTruthAesop: [[spoiler:It is entirely possible, and even quite likely, that you don't actually have a "purpose" in being alive or some grand reason you were put on this Earth--and even if you do have one, no one is going to just hand it to you. Whatever your reason for living, whether it's destiny or something you make on your own, you're gonna have to figure that out for yourself. Some people never figure out what their purpose is, and that's okay. Just enjoying life is reason enough to be alive.]] Though one could interpret your purpose in this endeavor is to just live life

* HardTruthAesop: [[spoiler:It is entirely possible, and even quite likely, that you don't actually have a "purpose" in being alive or some grand reason you were put on this Earth--and even if you do have one, no one is going to just hand it to you. Whatever your reason for living, whether it's destiny or something you make on your own, you're gonna have to figure that out for yourself. Some people never figure out what their purpose is, and that's okay. Just enjoying life is reason enough to be alive.]]