Photo: Disney/Pixar

Warning: Spoilers for Pixar’sSoulbelow.
Cat fans who have seen Pixar’s newest offering,Soul, don’t fret: Mr. Mittens' soul is safe and accounted for.
Inthe movie, the protagonist, Joe Gardner, accidentally takes over the therapy cat’s body in an attempt to re-enter his own, which causes Mr. Mittens' soul to take a conveyor belt toward the mysterious “Great Beyond.”
And while we see a very-feline-like-indeed Mr. Mittens reunite with his owner at the end, with not a trace of humanlike qualities in place, the question of his soul was initally left up for debate.
“One of our most persistent notes while making the film: ‘butwhat about the cat’s soul?’ " director and co-writerPete Docterwrote Jan. 1 on Twitter.
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Soulco-writer and co-directorKemp Powersoffered a more in-depth explanation the same day, saying that Mr. Mittens got back to his body due to the “9 lives” cats are said to have.
“We actually boarded an entire sequence that showedhow Mr. Mittens got back to his body,” Powers revealed. “We were considering playing it over the end credits, but it was a bit too silly tonally.#PixarSoul”
Fans responded in earnest to Powers' tweet, with many pleading for them to create a short based on Mr. Mittens' journey to the Great Beyond and back.
As for Joe, Powers said the “biggest debate” among the team waswhether the protagonist lives or diesas the film concludes. “I think we made the right choice.#PixarSoul,” he tweeted.
Pixar’sSoul.Disney/Pixar

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That’s where he meets the cynical, jaded soul 22 (Tina Fey), and the two embark on an unprecedented journey to reunite Joe’s soul with his body — with unexpected results.
“Not only doesSoullive 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 inher review of the film, which currently holds a 96 percent rating onRotten Tomatoes.
Soulis streaming now on Disney+.
source: people.com