What Was 22’s Spark in ‘Soul’? The Disney Movie’s Powerful Ending Explained

Warning: This article contains Soul spoilers. You probably guessed that from the headline, but just in case.

Soul, the new Pixar movie streaming on Disney+, is an ambitious film that requires a lot of world-building to pull off. But if you’re willing to play along with the complicated exposition (including a literal instruction video), you’ll be rewarded with a moving metaphor for living life to the fullest.

The basic set-up is that Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) is a middle school jazz teacher who dies just after he lands the piano-playing gig of a lifetime. Joe refuses to die before his big break, so he manages to weasel his way into a purgatory called The Great Before, where he poses as a mentor for a soul called 22 (Tina Fey). 22 isn’t like the other souls in The Great Before, who are being formed to be sent down to earth to become a person. She doesn’t want to go down to earth, because she can’t find her “spark,” aka something she is passionate about that will complete her Earth Pass. She’s tried soccer, painting, pizza, chemistry, and nothing interests her enough to be her “spark.”

Are you with me so far? Good. Let’s get into the Soul ending explained.

What was 22’s spark in Soul?

I don’t blame you for being confused, because the lesson of Soul is presented in a slightly muddled, convoluted way. However, if you’re Googling, “What was 22’s spark in Soul?” then I regret to inform you that you missed the entire point of the movie. If you’d like a more eloquent account of how the moral of Soul hit me right in the feels, I’d direct you to this personal essay I wrote last week. But read on for the basic gist.

When 22 lives on earth in Joe’s body, she starts to appreciate the little things in life—the breeze gently blowing the leaves as she walks down the sidewalk on an autumn day in New York City, or the guitar played by a busker in the subway station. She falls in love with the idea of simply living, and that, my friends, is her spark.

“Maybe sky-watching can be my spark,” she suggests to Joe hopefully. “Or walking! I’m really good at walking!”

“Those really aren’t purposes, 22,” Joe responds. “That’s just regular old living.”

Joe thinks that everyone on earth is born to do one thing. He thinks that his “spark” is playing piano. He thinks the fact that he wasn’t living his dream job of playing the piano professionally meant that his life was meaningless. But Joe is wrong. When 22 finally gets her Earth Pass, Joe asks Jerry—one of the soul counselors in the Great Before, voiced by Richard Ayoade—what 22’s purpose was. The ethereal entity simply laughs at him.

“A spark isn’t a soul’s purpose!” Jerry says. “Oh, you mentors and your passions. Your purposes, your meanings-of-life. So basic.”

Here’s the deal: In the world of Soul, there is no one single purpose that makes up someone’s “spark.” Joe assumed that was the case when he first arrived in the Great Before, but his assumption was incorrect. Because when Joe finally does get his dream job of playing piano, life is exactly the same as it was before he had that job. Finally, Joe realizes that a “spark” is not about having a single purpose—it’s about enjoying regular old living. Joe realizes that 22 was right all along.

What is the Soul ending, explained?

Having come to this realization, Joe sets off to return 22’s Earth Pass. He finds her in the land of the lost souls. She is convinced that she is not good enough because she can’t find her purpose. She thinks she never found her spark.

“Yes, you did,” Joe tells her gently. “Your spark isn’t your purpose. That last box fills in when you’re ready to come live.”

Joe gives 22 her Earth Pass, and accepts the fact that this means he will have to die. He’s OK with that, because he’s realized he was living all along, even without his dream job. However, because this is a Pixar movie, the fact that Joe is willing to accept this lesson means he is rewarded with a second chance at life. He isn’t yet sure what he will “do” with his life, but he does know he will live every minute of it.

With that, the movie ends. We don’t find out who 22 becomes at the end of Soul—that’s a story for a different time. What we do know is the ultimate meaning of the Soul ending: You shouldn’t wait for your life to begin; you should live life to the fullest right now. Classic Pixar.

Watch Soul on Disney+