22 vs. Earth

There is a specific brand of irony in a nine-minute film about the refusal to exist, especially when it’s dropped onto a streaming platform during a global pandemic when most of us were questioning our own schedules. 22 vs. Earth arrived on Disney+ in April 2021, acting as a bite-sized prequel to Pixar’s heavy-hitter Soul. While the parent film was busy wrestling with the metaphysical weight of jazz and mortality, this short is essentially a workplace comedy set in the "Great Before," and it reminds me why I sometimes prefer the appetizers to the main course.

I watched this while trying to peel a very stubborn price sticker off a new laptop with my fingernail, an exercise in futility that felt spiritually aligned with 22’s mission to stop souls from ever reaching Earth. It’s a tiny, gleaming gear in the Disney+ content machine, but it’s one that actually has a soul—pun absolutely intended.

The Art of the Nine-Minute No

The premise is pure comedic rebellion. Long before she met Joe Gardner, 22 was already a veteran of the "Great Before," having successfully annoyed every mentor from Copernicus to Marie Antoinette. Here, she decides to escalate her resistance by forming a secret organization: the "APOCALYPSE" (Anonymous Provocateurs and Other Culprits Against Leaving Your Soul Early). It’s the kind of acronym-heavy joke that Josh Cooley—who co-wrote this and directed Toy Story 4—excels at.

Tina Fey returns as 22, and she is quite literally the only person who could make pre-existence nihilism sound like a fun Friday night. Her delivery is rapid-fire, dry, and perfectly captures that "too cool for school" energy of a teenager who hasn't actually been born yet. She’s joined by the Jerrys, voiced with delightful, bureaucratic serenity by Alice Braga and the incomparable Richard Ayoade. Watching Ayoade’s Jerry calmly navigate the chaos of 22’s rebellion is a highlight; his voice has a natural "IT Crowd" frequency that fits the abstract, tech-support-for-the-universe vibe of the Jerrys perfectly.

The comedy here relies heavily on the "child-logic" of the new souls 22 recruits. She tries to brainwash five "newbies" into staying, but since they lack personalities, they mostly just mirror her cynicism in the most innocent, high-pitched voices imaginable. It’s a classic comedic setup: the hardened leader being slowly dismantled by the sheer, un-ironic sweetness of her subordinates.

The Pandemic Short and the "Extra" Culture

We have to talk about the context of this release. In the 2020-2021 era, the "Disney+ Original Short" became a vital survival tactic for the studio. With theaters largely shuttered or struggling, these shorts weren't just theatrical "curtain raisers" anymore; they were the primary way to keep a franchise's pulse beating. 22 vs. Earth feels like a high-quality "DVD Extra" that managed to break free of the menu screen.

Because it’s a streaming-first release, it doesn’t have to appeal to a broad theatrical demographic. It’s for the fans. It’s for the people who loved Soul but wanted more of the world-building and less of the "middle-aged man in a cat" body-swap hijinks. It’s also a showcase for director Kevin Nolting, who was the lead editor on Soul (and Up, and Inside Out). You can feel an editor’s hand in the pacing—there isn’t a wasted frame. In an era where streaming services often pad their runtimes to juice engagement metrics, seeing a story told with such ruthless efficiency is a breath of fresh air.

Interestingly, while the animation uses the same gorgeous, translucent assets from the feature film, the short leans harder into the "surrealism" of the Great Before. The way the new souls—with names like Zimmy and Peanut—bounce around is a testament to Pixar’s ability to make "non-physical entities" feel weighted and tactile. It’s basically a Reddit thread come to life, but with better lighting.

Stuff You Didn't Notice

One of the coolest details about the production is that the "new souls" weren't just random kids. Pixar often uses the children of their own employees for these scratch voices, which gives the souls a genuine, unpolished charm that professional child actors sometimes lose. Also, if you listen closely to the score, you’ll hear the returning work of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. They managed to take their ethereal, synth-heavy "Heaven" theme from the main film and tweak it just enough to feel more whimsical and mischievous.

The film also serves as a subtle commentary on the current era of social media discourse. 22 is trying to build a "cult of personality" based on negativity, only to find that human nature (or soul nature) is inherently drawn toward connection and purpose. It’s a message that felt particularly poignant during the isolation of 2021. Even if you're a "forgotten oddity" in the massive Disney library, this short carries the DNA of Pixar’s best work: it’s funny, it’s a little bit sad, and it’s smarter than it needs to be.

22 vs. Earth is a delightful footnotes-version of a masterpiece. It doesn't redefine the genre, and it certainly won't change your life like the ending of Soul might have, but it's a masterclass in comedic timing and character voice. It’s a reminder that even the most cynical among us—whether we’re 2-D souls in a pre-life void or just film fans sitting on a couch with a lukewarm cup of tea—can’t resist the pull of a well-told story. If you have ten minutes to kill before your next meeting, there are far worse ways to spend them than watching Tina Fey try to start a riot in heaven.