'22 Vs. Earth' First Look: The 'Soul' Prequel Is Headed To Disney+ This Month

Move over Batman v Superman. Get lost Godzilla vs. Kong. Here comes 22 vs. Earth, a prequel to Pixar's Soul. This short film from Pixar Animation Studios shows us 22, the soul voiced by Tina Fey, before she met Soul character Joe Gardner. Fey returns to voice 22 yet again, and Pixar veteran Kevin Nolting directs. The short is headed to Disney+ this month, and we now have some first-look images you can see below.

Here we have our first look at 22 vs. Earth, the new Pixar short film headed to Disney+ on April 30. The short is set before the events of Soul, and comes from filmmaker Kevin Nolting. Here's a synopsis:

Ever wonder what new soul 22 has against Earth in Disney and Pixar's hit 2020 feature film "Soul"? A new short from Pixar Animation Studios revisits the skeptical soul long before she ever met Joe Gardner. Debuting on Disney+ on April 30, "22 vs. Earth" welcomes Tina Fey back to The Great Before as the voice of quick-witted and sarcastic soul 22.

In the short, 22 defies the rules of The Great Before and refuses to go to Earth, enlisting a gang of five other new souls in her attempt at rebellion. However, as her cohorts' activities lead to unexpected results, 22's subversive plot may actually lead to a surprising revelation about the meaning of life.

"While making Soul, we talked about the why of a new soul not wanting to live on Earth, but it didn't ultimately belong in that movie," said Nolting. "22 vs. Earth was a chance to explore some of the unanswered questions we had about why 22 was so cynical. As a fairly cynical person myself, it felt like perfect material...I think the new souls make the short so fun—the contrast of their pure innocence and delight with the cynical expectations of 22. The other new souls are what 22 once was before she took another path—purely innocent, blank slates to be guided by the counselors in their mostly uneventful journey to the earth portal. 22 sees an opening in that and attempts to guide them herself into her way of thinking."

I feel like we already got a lot of backstory for 22 in Soul itself, so I'm not sure how essential this short is. But if you're a fan of the character, or a fan of the Great Before sequences from Soul, or just want to revisit the world of that film in general, that might be enough to get you on board. In the meantime, here's the logo for the short film.