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Hey, brother.
Oh, man, you guys, I am excited
because today we're going to tackle the big question
everyone is left with after they watched the movie,
"Soul", or, well, I guess maybe the big question
is what is the meaning or purpose of life?
Today, we are tackling a much smaller question
you are left with at the end of "Soul",
which is who do 22 become?
Who is 22?
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Okay, so as a refresher, 22 is a soul
who has not been living their non-life
in the Great Before since...
Actually since it's probably just a good way
to end that sentence.
Just 22 has not been living since.
The reason they have not made their way down to Earth
is because as long as they haven't not been living,
they have never been able to find their spark
and complete their Earth pass.
Really kind of ironic that they couldn't figure out
that they wanted to live until after they have lived.
It's really a bit of a catch.
Wait a minute.
In any case, after spending a day on Earth
in Joe Gardner's body, eating pizza and talking to a cat,
they discover that their spark is jazzy,
which actually has nothing to do with jazz hands
or playing the jazz music at all.
It seems to be the act of living in the moment,
being present and seeing others experience their passion,
like playing guitar or sewing.
In fact, every time throughout the day,
22 witnesses someone experiencing their passion,
they collect a little souvenir
to commemorate the experience,
and I think that little action is an important detail
when it comes to determining who they become,
but exactly who they become remains a mystery,
because the movie ends with 22 having finally completed
their Earth past, jumping down to Earth, and that's it.
We don't actually get to see what body they land in,
which I actually found to be a really beautiful ending.
Sometimes it's just better not to know.
It's just good to know that it was a happily ever after,
even if you don't know what person they became,
but we're just going to plow right on through that,
'cause the rest of the video is going to be who is 22?
Figuring that out within the Pixar Universe
is something of a daunting task,
because there are way more than just human characters
that 22 could have fallen into.
Are we even sure 22 is a human?
Could they be a toy or a rat or a fish or a car or a machine
or a whatever else?
Do you see the problem?
And not only that, but whether or not they're jumping
into the present is pretty debatable.
After all, 22 tells Joe that time doesn't really exist
in the Great Before, so it is quite possible
that when they are jumping down to Earth, they are landing
in a body at any point in history.
That said, it is true that when Joe jumps through the portal
with 22's Earth pass, he does land in his own body
in the present, but, personally, I think that has more to do
with the fact that he had his own body to begin with
and knew specifically where to aim in both space and time.
It is also worth noting, I think, that when Joe and 22
fall through the portal into Joe and Mr. Mitten's bodies,
that they are not falling through the main Earth portal,
but rather through one created in the zone,
which is tethered to the present,
and we know that because you can see people in the present
in the zone, being in the zone,
plus the rules are obviously different there,
because neither Joe nor 22 has an Earth pass,
and yet they're able to successfully fall to Earth.
Point is, time is irrelevant
when it comes to determining 22's identity
in the real world, as is possibly space.
So if you're keeping track, 22 could be basically anything
that moves, from any time and anywhere.
This should be fun.
Let's start with the easiest and most obvious.
When you watch 22 falling towards Earth,
it looks like they're falling towards Asia,
so you might be tempted to think
that they are going to be born Asian, but I have to say,
I don't think what section of Earth is facing up
makes any difference to where they land on Earth.
For one, it would mean that only half the Earth at a time
could be having children be born,
and that whenever like, let's say,
North America was facing up, no one in China at all
could be being born, which that doesn't sound right.
Although to be clear, I'm not a doctor.
That's my brother, Dr. Joseph Nathan.
Raise your hand if you got that joke.
On top of that though, despite the small looking size
of the hole they're jumping to, if you look down at Earth,
you can see souls falling
from almost every direction anyway, so with all that said,
it might seem like anyone from anytime ever
is a really wide pool to work with, and it is,
but we do have a few clues.
We do get to spend the whole movie with 22
and get to know what they are like,
plus thanks to the Art of Soul book,
we actually get to learn what all of the other aspects
of their personality are on their Earth Badge.
Apparently, 22 is an extroverted, moody cynic,
who's extremely punctual.
Honestly, I love the extremely punctual part,
like what a funny little thing in there,
and especially ironic since 22 has been missing in action
on Earth since.
Even with all that to guide us though,
there's plenty of room for interpretation,
and likely we'll never really know the answer
but here are our top candidates.
Our one theory I've seen floating around out there
that has some really good merits
and is probably the most straight forward answer
we're going to get, is that 22 becomes Mei Lee.
Wait, who?
Glad you asked.
Okay, so Mei Lee is going to be the lead character
in an upcoming Pixar movie called "Turning Red",
which comes out in 2022.
Oh, hey, look.
"Turning Red" will be a coming of age story
about a young girl battling
against her mother's expectations versus her own ambitions.
It's a pretty typical teenager story, with the added fun
that whenever she gets too excited,
she will turn into a giant red panda,
which I don't think is a common thing
that happens to people, but again, not a doctor,
and what makes this a really straightforward answer for 22
is that the red panda is native to the exact area of Earth
it looks like 22 is falling to,
plus it's likely that "Turning Red" will take place shortly
after "Soul", meaning 22 would end up in the body
of a young girl, who looks to be about the right age
for the passage of time, and who has the ability to turn
into an animal native to the section of Earth
that they're falling to, and, hey, let's face it.
What teenage girl, or boy for that matter,
isn't a moody cynic?
- [Camera Operator] Why do I kind of feel like
that's a slight at me?
- What?
It also looks like Mei Lee is going to be obsessed
with some particular music group,
which would be a nice nod to Joe,
and the kind of passion that might spark 22's spark.
But Mei Lee is far from the only option 22 could be.
Next up, Colette from Ratatouille.
First of all, they both have purple eyes.
No, I'm just kidding.
That doesn't make any difference at all.
All of the souls have purple eyes ahead of time,
and I guess Colette is just lucky.
I mean, who has naturally occurring purple eyes?
Violet Parr and Dory.
But, wait, Jay,
certainly Colette's spark must be cooking, right?
And wouldn't such a common spark have easily been located
in the hall of everything, after eons of searching?
We literally see 22 dismiss baking
right in front of our eyes, and Colette loves bread.
- Listen.
(bread crackling)
Oh, symphony of crackle.
- True, however,
Colette's spark may not actually be cooking.
In fact, she makes a point of talking
about how every other member of the kitchen
found their way there in a really unorthodox manner,
and yet, they are all still artists,
almost as if what she really likes is being around people
who have found their passion,
and as for whether or not Colette is moody, well,
there's this.
(knives banging)
- 'Cause I am the toughest cook in this kitchen.
- Yeah, I think that qualifies enough
for a big old check.
Oh, I guess, maybe arguably, it is just one mood?
As for punctuality, well, just listen to the speed
at which she describes the importance of time to Linguine.
- You waste energy and time.
They say cooking is a cute job, like mommy in the kitchen.
Well, mommy never had to face the dinner rush
when the orders come flooding in and every dish is different
and (indistinct) all of the different cooking times,
but must arrive on the customer's table
at exactly the same time, hot and perfect.
Every second counts and you cannot be mommy.
- And while she may not be cynical of everyone,
she certainly assumes the worst about Linguine
out of the gate, before finally warming up to him.
- Keep your station clear, or I will kill you.
- Honestly, I think she checks out really well,
but there are still some potentially better options.
For example, Russell.
Hey, quick, do you remember that Pete Docter movie,
where a young character is endlessly annoying
an older character, while looking for the final merit badge
they need, while the older character is doing everything
they can to live out their lifelong dream,
and there's a talking animal sidekick?
- My name is Dog.
I have just met you and I love you.
- And also, not for nothing,
but there's the scene where 22 imitates an old man
who looks almost exactly like Carl?
Now, that said,
I'm not sure I could genuinely call Russell moody or cynical
or even punctual, but none the less,
the parallels between Russell and 22 are massive,
and they both even end up ending the movie
with teaching their mentor that the true value in life
is in living it, not just dreaming about it.
Also, also, actually, actually,
the chemical compound 22 was working on here, C7H8N4O2,
is more commonly known as theobromine,
or even more commonly known as chocolate.
Next up though, staying inside the world of "Up"
is instead of Russell, Ellie.
Now, we don't get to spend a ton of time with Ellie,
but in the...
Oh, that was sad, but in the time we do, we learn a lot,
certainly enough to apply the traits we're looking for.
We know 22 is an actively annoying soul,
and while Ellie definitely doesn't annoy Carl,
I think it would be fair to say she has
at least an abrasive personality,
at least when she's a little girl.
- I ripped this right out of a library book.
- Punctual?
Yeah, you betcha.
Have you seen this tie montage?
Her and Carl are creatures of routine.
Now, I hesitate to call Ellie cynical,
'cause we just don't see her interact
with that many other people,
but she does quickly accost Carl,
when he first finds her in the house,
and she forces him to swear to keep his promise,
suggesting she is afraid he would otherwise break it.
The huge argument for Ellie though
comes in the form of 22's spark,
because almost definitely Ellie's spark is also jazzing,
because maybe no other Pixar character
understands so intrinsically the value of living
in the moment of being present and going on adventure.
Carl, of course, misinterprets this
as going on a literal adventure,
the same way Joe misinterprets his own dreams
of playing with Dorothea,
but the actual adventure was just being married to Carl
and living a great life with him.
On top of that though, Ellie has another hobby
that feels very in line with 22, and that is scrap booking,
collecting little mementos from her greatest adventure,
being married to Carl and lovingly curating them.
This is not just similar to how 22 collects little mementos
when they're living as Joe, but also to the little box
they live in in the Great Before,
where they've obviously collected a bunch
of other randomly meaningful objects.
Where do you think she's getting all the stuff by the way?
Is stuff even a thing that exists in the Great Before?
Actually, you know what?
For what it's worth, Carl himself ends up
as a pretty moody, cynical, punctual old man, doesn't he?
- (indistinct), Ellie?
- But that brings us to our final candidate,
which I'm very excited about,
because it's either the most out there or the most perfect,
and that is WALL-E,
to which I'm sure many of you are saying,
"Wait, does WALL-E have a soul?"
To which I say, "How dare you?"
If any machine at all has a soul, it's WALL-E,
and the proof is that on the entire planet,
the first plant that grows
and ends up saving the entire human race happens to grow
near the only other living thing on the planet,
inside of a fridge, and as we all know,
human memories are what keeps things alive
in the Pixar Universe, and WALL-E is the only one there
to even be remembering stuff,
which we see him actively doing
when he's watching the old movies, and in how he,
just like 22, collects human artifacts
out of seemingly random interest, just because they,
dare I say it, spark joy?
I did it, I said it.
"But Jay, WALL-E is not a cynical character,"
I hear you saying, and yes, I agree, but hear me out.
Cynicism is the act of believing others
are only interested in themselves
and will only act out of self interest,
but in WALL-E's case, he is literally manufactured by BNL,
which is absolutely only interested in itself.
WALL-E does not need to assume anything.
In fact, there's really not even opportunity to do so.
It's just literally the state of the world
he is created into.
In terms of punctuality, he, too, is a creature of routine
and sticks to it like clockwork.
I mean, likely because he has an actual internal clock
guiding him, but that is besides the point.
The real point is that, much like 22 in Joe's body,
WALL-E has an absolute noticeable effect on every person
or machine he comes into contact with.
Simply by being themselves,
22 draws in everyone at the barber shop,
convinces Connie to stick with trombone,
and wins over Joe's mom.
Same goes for WALL-E.
He wakes up John and Mary, great names by the way,
from their tech-induced coma, he sets free the other robots,
he turns the captain onto Earth, but most importantly,
breaks Eve away from her strict protocols
and encourages free will, almost like if you were to,
I don't know, stop following the sheet music
and instead just play jazz.
But anyway, you guys, those are our top five candidates
for who do 22 become?
(camera operator laughing)
Which of those five do you think is the most likely
or do you have a totally different opinion?
Let us know your thoughts in the towel section down below.
Guys, as always, thanks so much for watching.
Please remember to leave a like on this video
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If you want to see how "Soul" fits into the Pixar theory,
you can check out this video right here,
or if you would like to hear the Pixar Theory Song,
which is available for purchase on iTunes,
you can check out that video right here, but then,
until next time, I will see you in another life, brother.