If you buy something from a Polygon link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our .[Ed. note: This essay contains significant spoilers for Soul, including the ending.]is Pixar’s first film with a Black protagonist, but the story never accepts the narrative complexities of Blackness. It’s a film where the Black character is either a blue blob or a cat for much of the action, but is rarely in his own Black body. It’s a film where a supposedly raceless character takes over a Black body, causing the Black character to minimize his own dreams for a symbiotic good. Soul opens as a story about...…If you buy something from a Polygon link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our .[Ed. note: This essay contains significant spoilers for Soul, including the ending.]is Pixar’s first film with a Black protagonist, but the story never accepts the narrative complexities of Blackness. It’s a film where the Black character is either a blue blob or a cat for much of the action, but is rarely in his own Black body. It’s a film where a supposedly raceless character takes over a Black body, causing the Black character to minimize his own dreams for a symbiotic good. Soul opens as a story about...WW…

In the ‘90s and 2000s, the thought of a year without a movie was unthinkable. This expectation became especially true once he began directing piercing dramas, like the Edward R. Murrow biopic Good Night, and Good Luck and the political thriller The Ides of March. Times have changed: The affable, dreamy movie star hasn’t actually acted in a film since 2016’s Money Monster. The last time he directed was the disappointing 2017 satire Suburbicon. During the current hiatus, Clooney married and started a family. It’s a decision that feels prescient considering the subject of his new Netflix film,...…In the ‘90s and 2000s, the thought of a year without a movie was unthinkable. This expectation became especially true once he began directing piercing dramas, like the Edward R. Murrow biopic Good Night, and Good Luck and the political thriller The Ides of March. Times have changed: The affable, dreamy movie star hasn’t actually acted in a film since 2016’s Money Monster. The last time he directed was the disappointing 2017 satire Suburbicon. During the current hiatus, Clooney married and started a family. It’s a decision that feels prescient considering the subject of his new Netflix film,...WW…