50 Best Disney & Pixar Soul Movie Quotes

Most Disney and Pixar fans probably felt a familiar warmth wash over them when watching Disney & Pixar’s brilliant film, Soul.

Not only did the movie provide some much-needed Christmas cheer when it was first dropped on Disney+ on Christmas Day 2022, but it also celebrated life and humanity in its own unique way!

What made this heartfelt film so special? Well, the answer lies within its catchy dialogue.

From quotable lines by Joe Gardner to wisdom from Spiritual Guide 22, here are 50 of the best Soul movie quotes that will make you think twice about what really matters in life.

SPOILER ALERT: This post may contain spoilers to movie or show plots.

Quotes from Disney and Pixar’s Soul

There are many wonderful, memorable characters in Disney and Pixar’s animated film, Soul (2020), but there are 2 main stars, Joe Gardner and 22.

The movie starts out by introducing us to Joe, a middle-aged middle school band teacher who dreams of being a professional Jazz musician. 

He’s been chasing this dream for all his adult life, and his family is fed up.

As you can imagine, this relatable story delivers some of the best quotes from Pixar movies!

Here are a few of my favorites from early on in the film.

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Music is all I think about. From the moment I wake up in the morning, to the moment I fall asleep at night. I was born to play. It’s my reason for living. – Joe

Joe to his band students: That guy was lost in the music. He was in it and he took the rest of us with him. And I want to learn how to talk like that. That’s when I knew I was born to play. Connie knows what I mean. Right, Connie?
Connie: I’m 12.

You’re doing my ears a favor… – Joe, after being called out of class by a school admin

All the times I’ve been so close to getting to my dreams, something always gets in the way. – Joe

We didn’t struggle giving you an education so you can be a middle aged man washing your underwear in my shop. – Libba, Joe’s mom

Libba: You can’t eat dreams for breakfast, Joey.
Joe: Then I don’t want to eat at all.

Maybe you ought to have a backup plan, too, for when your plan falls through. – Libba

My only purpose on this planet is to play. It’s what I was meant to do and nothing’s gonna stop me. – Joe

I heard this story about a fish. He swims up to this older fish and says, “I’m trying to find this thing they call the ocean.” “The ocean?” says the older fish, “That’s what you’re in right now.” “This?” says the young fish, “This is water. What I want is the ocean.” – Dorothea Williams

More Soul Movie Quotes

Just as Joe gets his break, he falls down a manhole and is sent to the Great Before. Panic sets in, as Joe realizes he didn’t get to live out his dreams.

These Soul movie quotes take us through Joe’s beginning in the Great Before.

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This can’t happen. I’m not dying today. Not when my life just started. – Joe

I’m not dying the very day I got my shot. I’m due. Heck, I’m overdue! – Joe

Is this H-E-Double Hockey Sticks? – Joe

Joe: Is this Heaven?
Counselor Jerry: No, it’s the Great Before. This is where new souls get their personalities, quirks, and interests before they go to Earth.

It’s easy to get turned around. This isn’t the Great Beyond. It’s the Great Before. – Counselor Jerry

Joe: Who are you?
Counselor Jerry: I am the coming together of all quantized fields of the universe appearing in a form your feeble human brain can comprehend.
Joe: What?
Counselor Jerry: You can call me Jerry.

Counselor Jerry: Here at the You seminar, all new souls are given unique and individual personalities.
#1: I’m an agreeable skeptic who’s cautious yet flamboyant.
#2: I’m an irritable wallflower who’s dangerously curious.
#3: I’m a manipulative megalomaniac who’s intensely opportunistic.
Counselor Jerry: Oh – this one might be a handful. But that’s Earth’s problem.

Joe: This is where personalities come from?
Counselor Jerry: Of course. Do you think people are just born with them?

We are the mystics without borders devoted to helping the lost souls of Earth find their way. I’m Moonwind Stardancer at your service. That’s Windstar Dreamermoon, Dancerstar Windmoon, and that’s Dreamerwind Dreamerdreamer. – Moonwind

You know, lost souls are not that different from those in the zone. The zone is enjoyable, but when that joy becomes an obsession, one becomes disconnected from life. – Moonwind

No one understands my art! – Moonwind

Disney and Pixar Soul Quotes

Soon Joe learns he is in the Great Before, where he is assigned to mentor a baby soul before it is sent to live its life on Earth.

He’s assigned to mentor 22, a stubborn and anxious soul who does everything and anything to avoid being sent to Earth.

22 is voiced by the ever-funny Tina Fey, who delivers some great lines!

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Joe: What is this place?
22: You know how when you humans are really into something and it feels like you’re in another place? Feels like you’re in the zone, right?
Joe: Yeah…
22: Well, this is the zone. It’s the space between the physical and spiritual.

22, you come out of this dimension right now! – Counselor Jerry

I have compassion for every soul – except you. I don’t like you. – Mother Teresa to 22

The world doesn’t revolve around you, 22! – Copernicus

Stop talking! My unconscious mind hates you. – Carl Jung

You are the greatest pain in the butt! – Muhammed Ali to 22

Nobody can help you! Nobody! – Marie Antoinette to 22

You know, I’m comfortable up here. I have my routine, I float in the mist, I do my Sudoku puzzles. And then like, once a week they make me come to one of these You seminars. It’s not great, but I know what to expect. – 22

Joe, I have been here for who knows how long and I’ve never seen anything that’s made me wanna live. And then you come along. Your life is sad and pathetic and you’re working so hard to get back to it! Why? I mean, this I gotta see! – 22

Funny lines from 22

Despite their anxiety and stubbornness, 22 is full of funny one-liners. Here are a few of my favorites!

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22: Okay, look. I already know everything about Earth, and I don’t want anything to do with it.
Joe: You’re missing out on the joys of life, like, uh, pizza!

By the time I got to mentor number 266, I was seriously asking “what is all the fuss about?” Like is all this living really worth dying for? You know what I mean?

What can I say, Joe? Earth is boring.

Don’t worry, they’re fine. You can’t crush a soul here. That’s what life on Earth is for.

Life is so unfair. I don’t want to die. Somebody call the whambulance. Wah!

The fire is so pretty. I kind of want to let it spread.

I’ve only been a person for an hour and even I know that’s a bad idea.

I grabbed a couple road lollis.

Like my mentor George Orwell used to say, “State sponsored education is like the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket.”

More Soul movie quotes

You’ll have to watch the movie to find out how it the rest of the film goes. For now, enjoy a few more of my favorite quotes from Soul.

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Lost souls are obsessed by something that disconnects them from life. – Moonwind

See, the tune is just an excuse to bring out the you. – 22

If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a liar – like Abraham Lincoln. – 22

The truth is, I’ve always worried that maybe there’s something wrong with me, you know? That I’m not good enough for living. But then you showed me about purpose and passion… – 22 to Joe

Counselor Jerry: So what do you think you’ll do?
Joe: I’m not sure. But I do know I’m going to live every minute of it.

Terry: You, Five, will be insecure. And you, Twelve, will be self absorbed.
Counselor Jerry: We really should stop sending so many through that pavilion.

I am happy to accept this very special award I requested, but that I absolutely deserve. – Terry

Joe: You ready?
22: Huh?
Joe: …to come live…
22: I’m scared, Joe. I’m not good enough. Anyway, I never got my spark.
Joe: Yes you did. Your spark isn’t your purpose. That last box fills in when you’re ready to come live. And the thing is, you’re pretty great at jazzing.

22: But Joe, this means you won’t get to…
Joe: It’s ok. I already did. Now it’s your turn. I’ll go with you.
22: You know you can’t do that.
Joe: I know. But I’ll go as far as I can.

Is all this living really worth dying for? People like him just bring other people down so they can make themselves feel better. He’s just criticizing me to cover up the pain of his own failed dreams. – 22 as Joe

Thought you could cheat the universe? Well you thought wrong! I’m the accountant and I’m here to bring you in. – Terry

22 as Joe: My mom has never understood what I’m trying to do with my life.
Libba: What did you just say?
22 as Joe: Because it seems like no matter what I do you disapprove.
Libba: Look, I know you love playing…
22 as Joe: Then how come except for church you’re the happiest when I don’t? I’m just afraid if I die today that my life would have amounted to nothing.

Life is full of possibilities. You just need to know where to look. Don’t miss out on the joys of life. – Joe

Which scenes and sayings from Soul are your favorite?

Share your favorite Soul movie quotes in the comments below and don’t forget to check out Soul (2020) on Disney+.

This post was originally published June 26, 2022. It was last updated October 11, 2023.