Despite my aversion to nonscientific thinking and stories about the after life so many friends told me I should still watch Soul, the new Pixar movies. The visuals were stunning, straight out of trippy brains, literally showing you different perspective of space. However, I kept fantasizing the story would be more of a continuation of, Inside Out. What if Soul would be based on some actual neuroscience?
The following will have some movie spoilers.
In my fantasy Souls start pretty similar but when Joe falls down instead of waking up into “the great beyond” he wakes up into “the great subconscious”. Trying to escape the bright white light he falls through the maze and meets a Jerry.
Jerry explains to Joe that they are the operating system of Joe’s brain and that he is currently unconscious. Instead of the simplistic story about how people get personality traits that was in the movie, Jerry takes Joe on a trippy exploration of gene environment interactions explaining to Joe that there were many possible Joe’s that never happened because of the unique environment Joe was born into. Jerry then explains that when Joe experienced hurt and trauma parts of him splintered off. He interduces some of the parts giving them a number explaining what split them off. Then Jerry interduces 22 who tries to escape similar to the original movie. “We aren’t sure why 22 split off”.
Joe then tries to do everything he can to get back to being conscious. He pleads with all the parts to help him when finally 22 agrees to help because it means Joe would leave.
22 takes Joe down a rabbit hole into his sub verbal memories, the baby brain space, shadow creatures roam a field that maps out Joe’s homunculus. The field leads to a scary cliff. “Jump down there” 22 commands. “What’s down their?” Joe askes too afraid to move. “What are you so afraid of, its just in your head” 22 says while walking backward.
Suddenly 22 slips and gets sucked into a vortex hulling 22 down the cliff.
“Oh no,” both Joe and 22 scream.
22 wakes up in Joe’s body, not even knowing how to control Joe’s body. In the subconscious world the cliff is gone and an old TV is showing the point of view of 22.
Joe bangs and shouts at the TV and discovers 22 can here him. Joe convinces 22 to escape the hospital and they go on adventures trying to get Joe to the concert on time. Instead of a cat talking to 22 there are scenes looking like they are talking to them self. 22 learns to like pizza and learns more about being a body just was we see in the movie, possibly without the body shaming shower scene.
22 arrives to the concert and gets shoved on stage however, 22 does not know how to play the piano. Then the music starts, 22 hears it and is enchanted just like Joe was when he was a kid. “I get it know,” 22 says. “Joe they want you here”. A portal appears in the TV Joe is watching. He jumps through and immerges in his body and starts playing.
The End.
Also I’d call the movie Parts :)