TODAY'S EPISODE WILL CONTAIN
SPOILERS FOR INSIDE OUT 2. Heeeeeey, Brother. Guys, it is a glorious week.
The week of a brand new Pixar movie: Inside Out 2. And therefore time for a brand new
addition to the Pixar Theory. Honestly, going in, I thought this was going
to be, like, a pretty straightforward one. That Inside Out 2 would just further cement the ways in which Inside Out 1 fits into the Pixar Theory. You know, just like, memories bring stuff to life. Boom, bam, done. But no. Not only is Inside Out 2 easily
the best non-Toy Story Pixar sequel, but the layers it adds to the Pixar Theory
go deeper than I could have imagined. Although, speaking of imagination, I have to say that
scene where Anxiety takes over Imagination Land and turns it against Riley is just, like, ahh.
Too real, guys. Too real. Now I'm worried nobody's going to get that joke and
that no one's going to watch the rest of the video and they don't even care about the Pixar Theory and
that we'll just have to abandon the entire channel and we'll probably be homeless. [exhale] The point is, it's rare for the Pixar sequels to introduce, like,
vast new swaths of lore and context to the Pixar Theory, but Inside Out 2 delivers big time and offers an explanation
for one of our longest standing questions about the Pixar verse, which is
what is the source of magic? Whaaaaaat? That's right, where does magic come from?
Well, today, we find out as we explore how Inside Out 2 fits into the Pixar Theory. [singing]
The Pixar Theory, the Pixar Theory. We're finally going to see it clearly.
The Pixar theory. Anyone else got that song stuck in their head now? Okay, so, if you are like somehow unfamiliar with the
Pixar Theory, it is the idea that every Pixar movie exists in the same universe on one giant timeline, and each movie is just telling one
small part of a much greater overall story. It all starts with the asteroid missing
the Earth in the Good Dinosaur- or, I guess, maybe it starts with Soul,
depending on your perspective. It's the great before. The great before? And it ends way in the future with Monsters, Inc. Or Brave.
Or with Soul again, depending on your perspective. But it cannot be understated how vitally important
Inside Out has been to this Theory, especially as it's matured over the years. And because we're need to contrast how Inside Out already
fits, let's go ahead and re-examine the role Inside Out and memories play in the greater Pixar Universe, because that will become our basis
for how Inside Out 2 actually differs. The crux of the Pixar theory has always
been this: Boo is the witch. Yes, the little girl in Monsters, Inc grows up
to become the crazy old witch in Brave, and her goal has always been to either find Sully,
or to just make sure that his memory never dies. This is because, in the Pixar verse, human
memories are what give things life. Like, for example, this is how the
toys are able to come to life. As long as there is a single memory orb of any given
toy anywhere, that toy can keep coming to life. But, as we see with Wheezy in Toy Story 2,
if a toy starts to become forgotten, they start to fade back into an inanimate object. This is also the explanation for the
Land of the Dead in Coco, and what allows for these skeletons
to "live out" their second life. As long as just one person remembers
you, you can keep on living. You know, living, you know, as a dead person. You know what I mean. But if you are entirely forgotten, as is the case with Hector's friend Chicharrón (pron: cheek-a-rown), you experience the final death
and are truly gone forever. Did I say that right? Cheek-a-rown?
Ben: El Cheek-a-rown? Cheek-a- rown. Sheek-a-rown. Sheek-a-rrrrown. I don't know. CHICK-A-RON. [southern] It says Chick-a-Ron.
It's not Chick-a-Ron. Cheek-a-rrrrrroooohn.
Gotta rrrreally rrrrroll your Rs. Silencio, Brrrrruno!! Wrong movie.
Ben: Same universe!
Same universe. Silencio, Bruno! But let's get back on track. You can even see
this phenomenon playing out in Wall-E with, I don't know, the entire Earth?? Has that ever bothered you when you're watching Wall-E that, on the entire planet with, like, one functioning robot, Wall-E himself happens to come across the
first plant inside of a fridge with no sunlight? Because, like, I have a garden and
that is not how plants, you know, plant. Tomatoes are coming in real nice, though. But if you believe the Pixar Theory,
then none of that should be a surprise, because what does Wall-E spend all of his day
doing? Remembering human things. In fact, I would argue in this entire video that 22 lands in
Wall-E, thus giving him the power to generate life via memories and thus, as he remembers
the Earth, it comes back to life. Which you then see happening on a
much greater scale with the captain later. Like, he starts remembering Earth and by the time
they get back there, there are tons of plants. Heck, you can even argue by the end of Toy Story 4, Woody
himself has ascended beyond simply being Andy's toy and has come to life for real
and can now do this as well. But I hear you sitting there saying, "J, that's all
well and good, but it's all circumstantial. Like, do we have any proof that
memories actually generate energy?" Glad you asked. In fact, we do, thanks to Monsters, Inc. Because what are they harvesting? Fear and joy. We scare because we care. But before we dive into that, let's
talk about fear and joy in a slightly different context thanks
to today's sponsor, Better Help. Gosh, this really is the perfect sponsor for today's video,
because one thing I think we're all likely to learn from the character Anxiety is simply that it may
be what you're experiencing in the first place. Because for me, personally, I recognize the feeling of
anxiety and know that I've felt it most of my life going back to try outs for sports, taking final
exams, or even just going on a first date. But back then, I just sort of always assumed the spiraling
thoughts of pending doom and inevitable failure that I was experiencing was just
far more, you know, nerves. But therapy has actually taught me how to identify
anxiety versus other feelings, like sadness or fear. And, in doing so, I've actually
gained power over those feelings, and can recognize when my mind is just
falling down a well of irrational thinking. And being able to highlight those thoughts and simply
set them aside is nothing short of a game changer. So, if you've ever thought of starting
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today to get 10% off your first month. That's Betterhelp, H-E-L-P,.com/Super. Okay, but back to the Pixar Theory. In Monsters, Inc., we know they start
by harvesting fear before transitioning over to the
far more powerful laughter, aka joy. And, look, I don't want to get too terribly deep into the
nitty-gritty details of it, but the rough premise of this is that the monsters exist in the far future long after humans have returned on the Axiom at the end of Wall-E. And they are using the doors to travel back in time to a
parallel timeline closer to what we would call the present, but more specifically somewhere in the 1950s. There's actually some really cool accurate
Disneyland posters on the walls in the kids' rooms that prove, like, the exact year. But, like, I don't want to- Again,
I don't want to get into it. But did you know- Please no!! But during this time, the mid 1950's, technology
on the human side of things is rapidly evolving and improving the lives of humans thanks to one Syndrome! Okay, no need to, like, yell at your name or anything.
But cool, yes, you're responsible, thanks. The end result, though, is that the lives of
humans are becoming easier and happier, and joy is becoming more plentiful and thus the
more lucrative emotion for the monsters to harvest. And the fact that Laughter is ten times more
powerful than Scream had nothing to do with it. And all of that leads us back to Boo, who, as she's
grown up, has learned all of this and learned magic to travel to the past where she can keep Sully's memory
alive. Because if a memory of him exists in the past, nobody in the future can forget him and thus
he can never experience the final death. It all fits together just oh so nicely. As long as you're able to gloss over
just one sentence we've said so far. [rewindy noise] And all of that leads us back to Boo, who, as she's
grown up, has learned all of this and learned magic- That's it. That's the only sentence
you have to gloss over. But, because how. How does she learn magic?
What is the source of this? Like, we thought maybe in Onward we were going to get an answer for this. Like, as magic is a huge part of the plot. But no. We get some vague hints, like, with
the whole "Speak with your heart's fire!" Your heart's fire! But that only explains how to use
magic, not where it comes from. But enter Inside Out 2, and its exploration of new areas of
Riley's mind, which reveal the truth about magic. The main new mind mechanic we learn about in the sequel is the belief system, and how this informs your sense of self. And the way it works is that memories
that are currently floating at the center of your stream of consciousness form your beliefs. Things like "I'm a good friend" or
"I love my parents" or "I like helping others." And all of those come together to form
your sense of self, which, for Riley- at least at the beginning of the movie-
is, "I'm a good person." Which, like, by the way, can I just say how
much I love the messaging of this movie? That, like, you are all of you and just more than the
good things you remember and that it's okay to have bad memories because they
help shape who you are, too, and shut up, I'm not crying.
You're crying. [exhale] But after watching the movie, it did get me wondering.
Are there other examples in Pixar movies of people's belief system on display
doing something extraordinary? Like, beyond just giving a teenage girl the confidence to play hockey? Which, like, I mean, that's already also pretty
extraordinary, but I think you know what I mean. And the answer is yes. I mean, Riley's better at hockey than me so. But immediately my mind went right here in Onward,
where Ian has to cast a trust bridge. And so it is. Ian's belief is so strong that the bridge
genuinely exists, as long as he continues to believe it. And I think that's what Barley means
by speaking with your heart's fire. Speaking with true conviction, with true belief
that the magic will work, and so it does. I needed that rope.
Ohhhh. But did you? Now, it should also be noted that, despite the belief system being the source of magic, it doesn't mean anyone can do it. Case in point, Barley himself. I mean, he knows everything
about how to do magic and has no trouble believing in it, but he can't actually do it. Like, in addition to
believing in it, you must also be magical like Ian. But that then got me wondering: are there
other magical beings we've met in Pixar? I mean, like, obviously the witch, but we'll get to her.
But once more, the answer is yes. And, like, this one might surprise you, but
I think Miguel is another magical being. Like, I've always loved Coco, but I've always continued
to wonder how he got to the Land of the Dead. We can clearly see when it happens right
here, but how is never explained. Until now. Miguel believes- wrongly, by the way-
that Ernesto De La Cruz is his ancestor and that by taking this guitar, he'll get to
play in the plaza. He even says it out loud. I'm going to play in the plaza just like you did. Then, upon strumming the guitar, things seem to
go wrong as he's brought to the Land of the Dead. But they're not as wrong as you might
think, because guess what? Plaza. Not only Plaza but who's he playing
with? His actual ancestor, who he randomly runs into in the entire
Land of the Dead? But the really curious thing here is that Miguel's
initial belief is incorrect, but that doesn't matter. Because Miguel's belief is stronger than reality.
And the same goes for the trust bridge. Ian's belief is stronger than reality. And note the similarities in both situations, too. Like, both have to believe and both are using some kind of instrument- yes, pun intended- to channel the magic. Now seems like a good time to maybe
also point you to the ritual in Turning Red. Again, there is believing in the form
of people chanting towards a specific goal and an instrument to guide the magic:
The sword. And on this note you might even want to
rope in, like, Moonwind from Soul here. Like, there's a circle on the ground
and the drumming and the meditating. Although they are already existing in
a very, like, metaphysical realm, so I'm not sure you know how much "magic"
counts as real magic here. Like, I don't know if, like, Human Moonwind is magic. I put this man's soul in a cat.
Who cares? But that brings us back to Boo, the master of magic. Who, you might argue, doesn't seem to
have a particular staff or instrument in which she's channeling her magic. Which is true and most mostly she's using potions
but dare I say she is using one particular tool: the door. Time and time again, she changes the inside
of her hut by closing and opening the door. And why does she use the door
as her magical tool? Because Sully visited her as a little girl
through the magic closet door in her room. Doors were literally her entryway into magic. Pun intended. But, like, do you see what I mean? She's able to use the
door as magic because she believes doors are magic, and her belief is stronger than reality. But speaking of unrealistic strength,
I'd be curious what you guys think of this. Could the power of the belief system in magical people
actually be the source of the Supers' powers? You are Elastigirl! Like, are they simply magical people
masked in hero costumes? Yes, pun intended. Because I can see how it would happen. I mean, what kids haven't pretended they've had one superpower or another? But if enough kids try and the truly magical ones believe it hard enough, they can almost make it come true. I mean, in Mei Lin's family, the magic
is clearly being passed down genetically, and that's obviously the same thing
happening in The Incredibles. Like, if you're a young little boy Robert "Bob" Parr-
which, by the way, means average- I can see a world where he, like, attempts to be great,
only to discover he actually is. And you can see how it would evolve, too.
Because in a world where superheroes exist, it's also to see how more and more
people would try to manifest these things, thus leading to more and more magical
people discovering that they're magical. Which is indeed what was happening
until they had to go underground. But also, not for nothing, if we go
back to Onward for a second, what ultimately stops those people from caring
about using magic? The advent of technology. And what are The Incredibles fighting against? It's too much for Mr Incredible! Technology! Which, as we know, eventually gets so advanced
people don't even need to move, let alone do magic. So, in conclusion, in the Pixar verse, human
memory is a super powerful energy source that can literally bring things to life,
and any human is capable of this. But Inside Out 2 suggest that certain people are magical,
and that those people can utilize their inner belief system to manifest those beliefs into magic that
affects the real world around them. Ipso facto, Miguel is a Super. Yeah. But there you go, guys, that's how
Inside Out 2 fits into the Pixar Theory. [Outro Theme Music] Hey, Brother! Guys, thanks so much for watching today's video.
Don't forget to leave a like on it, if you haven't already, and ring that bell so you don't miss any
future Pixar Theory action from us. If you want to see the full complete Pixar Theory,
you can check out this video right here. But Ben otherwise, until next time, I will see you in another life, Brother.
