Inside Out

Inside Out

Starring Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Bill Hader

Directed by Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen

The Story:
Riley Anderson (Kaitlyn Dias) is born, and along with her birth comes the arrival of Joy (Amy Poehler), a tangible representation of the emotion of joy in her head.  Joy is soon joined by fellow emotions Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kahling).  As Riley grows up, the emotions work together to give her the most happy upbringing possible, and Riley thrives: she has friends, a loving family, and is an amazing hockey player. 

Then, one day, everything is turned upside down when Riley and her family move from Minnesota to San Francisco, everything seems depressing and lonely, and Sadness begins messing with the core memories, turning them sad before Joy stops her.  Then the two are sucked into the tube leading to the long-term memories, away from Headquarters and leaving control of Riley's emotions to Fear, Anger and Disgust.  They try to keep Riley happy, but without Joy, she descends into depression and eventually apathy.

Meanwhile, Joy and Sadness try to get back to Headquarters, while Joy feels Sadness is ruining Riley's life.  However, at every turn, Sadness comes up with the ideas to get them back home.  Soon it seems that Joy needs Sadness, and Sadness needs Joy, in order to get back and fix Riley's emotions before all her core memories are erased.

The Synopsis:
Pixar has a true gift to turn childrens' movies into insane crowd pleasers, entertaining young and old alike.  They also know how to tug at the heartstrings, making even the strongest of us vulnerable to our own emotions.  Hence why "Inside Out" is the perfect Pixar film - it's completely unique, filled with beautiful visuals, has some great comedic moments, and also leaves you feeling.  It's a beautiful tale of what happens inside each of us, and how we handle our emotions.

In 1980, Robert Plutchik - a doctor who studied emotions - created the Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions.  He listed the basic emotions of Joy, Trust, Fear and Surprise, as well as their opposites - Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Anticipation.  Director Pete Docter first wanted to have 27 emotions, but condensed it to the five main emotions, which was a perfect inclusion because it had their antithesis (Joy/Sadness, Fear/Anger, while Disgust stood without its Trust counterpart).  Each emotion was beautifully rendered: Joy is always bright, yellow and bubbly; Sadness is blue, pudgy and short; Disgust is green, fashionable and skinny; Anger is short, red, and had a crew-cut hairstyle; Fear is purple, scraggly and wide-eyed.  Even though they inhibit their own emotions, they work in tandem to keep Riley well-balanced, until Joy and Sadness are whisked away.

Much more than just a simple child's movie, "Inside Out" serves as a life lesson for adults as well, particularly between yin/yang relationship of Joy and Sadness.  The two are the most dominant emotions, as proven when Anger, Fear and Disgust have a terrible time controlling Riley's emotions without them.  Joy, at first, doesn't seem to know what to do with Sadness.  She wants Riley to be continually joyful, and any sad emotions are an instant no-no for her.  As the film progresses, Joy begins to understand the importance of Sadness - for without Sadness, you can't experience Joy.  Memories shouldn't be just joyous, or any one emotion alone.  Who we are is a combination of all our memories, experiences, and life lessons - both good and bad.  While it's great to see the brighter side of things, we still face dark times, and if all we do is focus on joy, we won't know how to handle those tougher situations.

The film also serves as a way to show children that growing up is okay.  We can't live in our childhood, but we shouldn't disregard all those memories either.  Director Pete Docter said the inspiration for the film came from watching his daughter go through the turbulent parts of growing up, and we see Riley go through that as well.  Delving into the Bible, it says in 1 Corinthians 13:11 - "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things."  Here, as Riley grows up, her childhood memories move to the long-term bank, and eventually the abyss of forgetfulness, in order to create new memories.  We don't have to forget the good times we had as children, but as the years go on we need to replace certain memories with new ones.  To be truly whole, we need to express and feel all our emotions.

When Pete Docter offered the role of Disgust to Mindy Kahling, she was moved to tears and said, "I think it's great that you guys are making a film that shows it's difficult to grow up and that it's okay to be sad about it."  That was the most poignant view of the film, as there were moments in the film where even I was reduced to tears, which is something Pixar does perfectly (don't tell me you didn't tear up in the first twenty minutes of "Up").  The film had a way to affect me to the deepest core, and did so in a way so subtly that I didn't see it coming.  It was amazing how a film geared for children can affect adults as well.

The Summary:
After a few blunders with "Cars 2" and "Monsters University," Pixar returned to true form with a unique tale that's told with brilliance, and touches the core emotions in us all.

The Score: A+