Disney/Pixar's latest instant-classic animated film, Soul, was released on Disney+ on Christmas Day. True to Pixar standards, it has a lot of... well, heart.
It also happens to be the first Pixar feature with a black lead ("Joe"), and the story interacts respectfully with African American culture. It also features an incredible jazz soundtrack!
I mean, it checks all the boxes, right? What's not to like?
Well, remember rule #1 of Wokeness:
Everything is problematic if you're offended enough!
Sadly, Soul is no exception.
Despite being an almost perfect feel-good film that positively highlights the black experience (and tip-toes around some doctrinal issues), at least one movie critic found an issue with it that she just couldn't get over. Are you ready?
The co-star of the film was white.
The character herself is not actually any particular race, but she is played by Tina Fey, who happens to be white. I mean, how did a white actress make it into the main cast? Who greenlit that? Unfortunate as that is, the critic appears to almost be able to look past this personal slight, except for the fact that...
The white character isn't completely useless.
Yes, throughout the story, the black main character and the presumably-white character interact, and, as should be the case in any half-decent story the two characters actually (GASP) grow as individuals, as a result of their interaction!
Yes. This appears to be the main thesis of the critic's review: The black character benefiting in any way from meeting the white character is too "cringe." According to the critic:
The movie should have leaned into Joe and his family instead of using a...white actress, to help him on his journey.
Yes, apparently, white people cannot in any way be helpful or useful to black people in any way.
The critic goes into more detail than I'll get into here, even strangely accusing the film of "almost" reinforcing the "white savior" stereotype, which is a huge stretch. I can't address those points without getting into spoilers, but suffice it to say, if you're looking to be offended, you'll always succeed.
This critic succeeded:
Would I want to watch "Soul" with a child on Christmas morning? Only if you want to have some long conversation about death, the meaning of life, and a little bit of white privilege, afterwards.
