Joe Gardner is a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. A misstep takes him from New York City to The Great Before, a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities before going to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe teams up with a precocious soul, 22, who has never understood the appeal of the human life. As Joe tries to show 22 what's great about life, he may discover...

Puss is so busy being a fearless hero and building his legend, he didn't realize he'd run through eight of his nine lives and for the first time finds himself fearing death and considering retirement. It's not so easy to shed those past lives, however, and when a notorious crime family hires him for one last job by destroying his placid life, he finds himself : in possession of a map to one last wish, the target of crime boss "Big" Jack Horner, reunited...