Review: Inside Out
Inside Out is the latest film from Disney*Pixar. They have taken us to so many wonderful places and told amazing stories. This time they take us inside the mind of an eleven year old girl who is is moving from one stage of her life into the next, and has to deal with a ton of emotional baggage. That's where this movie really shines.
Meet the voices inside your head: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. They reside in the headquarters (pun intended, I'm sure) and help to form your responses to everyday occurrences. Imagine you see broken glass on the ground. That's where Fear might take the controls to help you stay safe. Broccoli? Disgusting, right? You don't get the toy you want at the store? Anger takes the controls and lights a fire under you! All of them work together to make you.
What makes this movie so interesting and fun is the visual representation of the mind and your personality. What makes you you. We all have different personalities and coping mechanisms. What emotion is driving us? Is it fear? Anger? Joy? What aspects of our lives form our personalities? For Riley, we get to see her Five Islands of Personality. The five things that make her who she is. Each one helps us understand who she is. We dive even deeper into her mind and explore what happens to memories, where imagination lives, and what resides in our subconscious.
The title of the movie really implies how the movie is set-up. We see Riley and who is she is not so much by her actions in the film, but by how she comes to those actions before she carries them out. We get to know the main character from the inside out. Instead of her just making a disgusted face to her parents, we see how she comes to make that face. We know all of her actions before she is even going to do them, thanks to her emotions. It's a very different way to experience a film.I thought Anger was the strongest character in the film. Not only was he animated superbly with over-the-top expressions and actions, but he was really developed into a full character with his own emotional story arc. He also leads us to a critical moment in Riley's life, one he later comes to regret. Fear is visually wonderful and has a great scene when he is watching Riley's dream. Disgust was kind of along for the ride, but didn't really speak to me as a character. Joy and Sadness, who form the core story of the film, work really well together. And, as we find out, are inseparable. We also get to meet Bing Bong, Riley's imaginary friend (voiced by Richard Kind), and some other fun characters. But I don't want to spoil it for you!
I think the greatest thing about this movie is the sense of introspection you are left with after the film ends. Suddenly, you are aware of what drives you. What pushes you forward. How you react to situations. Maybe it'll make better humans of us all. After all, look at what happens when Anger gives us ideas . . .
Final Thoughts:
Inside Out is a must-see film. It is visually splendid, moves along at a good pace, and takes us to places we've never been before. Listen carefully for a nod to a Disney Parks attraction. The humor is wonderful. It let's us laugh together as an audience and at ourselves. Most of all, it will leave you a little wiser and perhaps give you some perspective.
