HOLY CRAP HAVE I BEEN WAITING FOR A BAND DIRECTOR MOVIE LIKE THIS!! Yes, I am aware that we have “The Music Man” and “Music of the Heart”, but to have an animated jazz band teacher movie out there in the world is just. the. best!

I am tempted to just give you all the FABULOUS commentary that my very lucky husband got to hear while I watched this movie with him. HOWEVER, I’m just going to give you the highlights of this film that resonated oh-so-dearly with me!

Highlights:

1. I nearly died at the opening credits because the middle school band cover of the “Universal” theme song was literally GOLD. Very similar to the classic “flute fail 20th century fox” video. IYKYK.
2. I LOVED the conversation that the little trombone girl (she was amaze balls, btw) had with the young soul #22. It was basically reverse psychology on a 12 year old, which yes, 100% works 100% of the time on 100% of middle schoolers. #lifehack
3. I thought the “in the zone” concept was so deep! They showed a scene where people that were “in the zone” sort of floated into the “soul world” but they were just moments away from becoming an obsession monster (not the actual term, but how I remember it). Unfortunately, I think a lot of musicians end up flirting between the two places all the time! I know no one asked, but in my personal opinion, if you meet somebody who starts justifying their selfish actions using the words “but that’s what I’m passionate about” they’ve already crossed the line. Welcome to the dark side.
4. I genuinely hope that this blue glowing animation is exactly what our souls look like in heaven. cuzzzz THEY CUTE.
5. As heart breaking as it was….having Joe Gardner (main character) realize that his whole life basically amounted to nothing because all he did was wait for something better to come along instead of living in the moment, was probably the best moment in the film. BUT ALSO it was like at minute 30 so that was weird.

Final thoughts on the movie: it is NOT what I had expected. Legit thought this was going to be about a music teacher in heaven. NOPE. However, it’s very insightful, very moving, and extremely entertaining. 2 thumbs way up.

Popcorn Rating: 4 popped corns

Truthfully Yours,

PFP