From the start, the philosophical movement that came to be known as existentialism was associated with literature. This possibility happens because there is a natural affinity between existential philosophy and narrative forms of art. On one hand, existentialist concur on the primacy of individual existence, of the lived experience of concrete human beings. On the other hand, cinematic narratives tell stories of beings such as ourselves, helping us to make sense of our existence and opening up probabilities that we might never have pondered otherwise (Shaw, 2017). Interestingly, Time.com stated that Pixar films are the philosophical of the animation world. Here lies the reason why the writer decided to analyze the portrayal of Jean-Paul Sartre’s famous phrase ‘Existence Precedes Essence’ in the latest Disney Pixar animation, Soul. Sartre argued that for human beings, our existence precedes our essence. In addition, Sartre’s notion of ‘existence’ characterized in terms of consciousness, free choice and ‘subjectivity’. For Sartre, the first act of consciousness is to choose. This study shows that Disney Pixar’sSoul does portray Sartre’s ‘existence precedes essence’ through Joe’s life – human beings have no fixed preordained essence or definition. Moreover, Sartre’s idea of consciousness or subjectivity can be seen from 22’s decision to be dared to live.

Ameriks, K. (2019). Kantian subjects: Critical philosophy and late modernity. Oxford University Press.

Crowell, S. (2020). Existentialism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2020 Edition), , Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/existentialism/

Docter, P. (2020). Soul. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Eldridge, R. (Ed.). (2009). Introduction - Philosophy and Literature as a Form of Attention. In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature (pp. 3–18). Oxford University Press, Inc.

Hamidy, R. R. (2016). SPIRIT OF EXISTENTIALISM IN HEMINGWAY ’ S FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. Journal Ilmiah Rinjani, 3(1), 47–58.

Jancelewicz, C. (2020). ‘Soul’ movie review: Existential Pixar film asks all the big questions. https://globalnews.ca/news/7533904/soul-movie-review-disney-plus/

Jurgensen, J. (2020). How Pixar Brings ‘Soul’ and Existential Ideas to Life. The Wallstreet Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-pixar-brings-soul-and-existential-ideas-to-life-11608735964

Kappler, F. (1964, November). Sartre and Existentialism. LIFE Magazine, 86–112.

Kirkpatrick, M. (2008, September). A-Z of Ideas: Existentialism. ThirdWay, 27.

Nuri, M. (2018). An EXISTENTIALISM STUDY ON PAULO COELHO ’ S THE ALCHEMIST. English Language & Literature Journal, VII(3), 275–282.

Panza, C., & Gale, G. (2008). Existentialism for dummies. Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Sartre, J.-P. (1992). Being and Nothingness. Washington Square Press.

Setyaningrum, R. W., Kurnia, F. D., & Mustofa, A. (2020). Sartre ’ s Existentialism for Grant and Jefferson ’ s Educational Commitment in Ernest J . Gaines ’ s Novel. Vivid: Journal of Language and Literature, 9(1), 26–32.

Shaw, D. (2017). Movies with Meaning: Existentialism through Film. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Verene, D. P. (2018). The Philosophy of Literature: Four Studies. Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Zacharek, S. (2020). Pixar’s Soul Ponders Big Metaphysical Questions, But It’s Best When It Comes Down to Earth. Time.Com. https://time.com/5923340/soul-review-pixar/