Writer and Co-Director of Disney's 'Soul' Reveals What Really Happened to Mr. Mittens at the End of the Film
The ending has left many concerned viewers wondering exactly what happened to the cat's soul.
If you walked out of Pixar's Soul wondering about Mr. Mittens, you were not the only one. The cat's strange trip through Joe Gardner's body, the Great Beyond, and that final reunion left plenty of viewers with one big question.
In the movie, middle-school music teacher Joe Gardner ends up inside the therapy cat's body, while Mr. Mittens' soul gets sent off on its own detour. By the end, the cat is back with its owner, but the film never spells out every detail of how that happened.
That missing piece sparked a lot of curiosity, and the creators eventually addressed it in a way fans did not expect.
Cats Have Nine Lives, After All.
Disney/Pixar"We actually boarded an entire sequence that showed how Mr. Mittens got back to his body," Powers said. "We were considering playing it over the end credits, but it was a bit too silly tonally."
Also, it feels like the AITA case where friends were upset over missed expectations during a pet-sitting disaster.
Fans Responded with an Overwhelming Plea for Pixar to Create a Short Based on Mr. Mittens and His Journey to (and from) the Great Beyond. So, What About Joe Gardner?
Powers says that one of the biggest debates among the crew was whether Joe would live or die. "I think we made the right choice," he said on Twitter.
Soul Follows the Story of Music Teacher Joe Gardner.
The character, voiced by Jamie Foxx, has an accident where his soul becomes separated from his body. On his journey to 'The Great Before,' he meets 22, voiced by Tina Fey, and the pair set out to reunite Joe's soul with his body.
"Not only does Soul live up to Pixar's own impossibly high standards, but it represents the very best the studio has to offer: beauty, humor, heart, and a gut-punch of an existential crisis," The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey wrote. You can stream Soul on Disney+ now.
Disney/PixarWant more Pixar-level chaos? See why a cat owner snapped after a friend refused to pet sit.
