22 vs Earth: Pixar and Disney brings the origin story of the skeptical sidekick from ‘Soul’

By Vandana Srivastawa

on April 29, 2021 03:05:23 PM

With Pixar’s last year animated release Soul winning two Oscars Sunday night for Best Animated Feature and Original Score, the timing is ripe to delve further into the psyche of the cynical soul 22 who refuses to come down to Earth by finder her purpose. A prequel short, titled 22 vs Earth, delves deeper into why the skeptical sidekick (voiced by Tina Fey) refuses to be born. Also returning is Alicia Braga as soul counselor Jerry.

Directed by Soul editor Kevin Nolting, the prequel takes place before the advent of Joe Gardner (played by Jamie Foxx) in 22’s life. The short provides an opportunity to dig deeper into her aversion to being born. Soul viewers did not get a reason why 22 is unwilling to go to earth but in 22 vs Earth we finally get to see her reason.

22 is definitely up to something. Stream 22 vs. Earth, an Original Short Film, April 30 on #DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/fY4sCTLhuY

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) April 27, 2021

Nolting said, “All during the making of ‘Soul,’ we wondered why she didn’t want to be born. What made her the way she was? All these little souls go to Earth and she seems to have this problem. She has friends that she’s losing and it brings in more humanity to her. I didn’t want the short to be a mirror of what she was like in the feature. In looking at what the story would be, the interesting thing for me is what makes her who she is in the feature. This is one of those incidents. In the beginning she was one of those innocent souls; what was the process to make her the cynical soul she is when Joe Gardner shows up? This is just one step in that process.”

22 vs Earth': Pixar Follows up 'Soul' with a Prequel Short | IndieWire

In 22 vs Earth, the dispirited senior soil decides to defy the rules of The Great Before by enlisting five new souls to join her resistance. This leads to some amusing, unintended consequences which only hardens 22’s resolve to never be born. Noting further said, “For me, if we were making a movie about her, this would be the mid-point and ‘Soul’ would be the third act. So she’s losing her friends and she’s unsure why she’s not getting the call to go to Earth or finding her spark, and this process crystallizes the path that she takes (for Soul).”

22 vs. Earth will debut on Disney Plus on April 30^th and it manages to capture the same existential problems as Soul, only in a much cuter and kid-friendly way.