To give you some perspective of the type of Pixar fan I am... my top five Pixar films are, in order: 5. Monsters Inc. 4. Up 3. Finding Nemo 2. Wall-E 1. Toy Story. These, to me, are the most original, inventive, heartwarming, funny, clever, creative, and beautifully written and told stories not just of Pixar, but of film. Pixar was the company that would churn out a film every single year that seemed to get better and better (minus Cars of course). Then, they got stuck in the sequel and prequel rut. I don't know how Hollywood's most original company could succumb to Hollywood. I mean, Cars 2?? Seriously?? Yes, Toy Story 3 is as close as one can come to replicating the magic of the original, but I missed seeing an original Pixar in the theater every year. And, unfortunately, beyond Inside Out and the upcoming The Good Dinosaur, it looks like it's going to be awhile before originality reigns supreme at Pixar again (they're currently working on Finding Dory, The Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4). So, that's why it so great that Inside Out is a brilliant movie. It's so great that it could probably last me a few years of sequels before I start to long for that Pixar originality magic once more.
Writer/Director Pete Doctor (who is responsible for four of my five favorite Pixar films) has given new life into Pixar. The film is a beautiful tale about a girl named Riley and all of the emotions going on inside of her head. There's Joy (Amy Poehler), Saddness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Anger (Lewis Black) and Fear (Bill Hader), all of whom lend a hand to structuring this little girl and who she is on the outside. Things are perfect for Riley and her emotions until her family uproots her from her childhood home in Minnesota and winds up in San Francisco. Her emotions start running haywire unsure of how to control Riley through these strange new circumstances. It doesn't help that Saddness and Joy are lost from the mind control center and anger, fear, and disgust are left to helm the girl's emotions while the other two try and find a way back.
Any way you look at the film, it's perfect. The visuals of the emotions (each shaped like what they represent) are great. They all have perfect personas and play off of each other with perfect comic ease. The story of what happens to a little girl who not only has to deal with moving away from everything she's ever known, but having to deal with the struggles of just growing up. And I know that each character is supposed to play an emotion, but there really is true emotion in this film. Not only do you care deeply about little Riley, you care about each individual facet of her mind so much so that there are legitimate tear-jerker moments. Sure, Pixar probably knew what they were doing in trying to make the audience weep harder than the first five minutes of Up, but it's a different kind of cry. You're not crying because of something sad, you're crying because you've been there. You've been a child who, in some way or another, has had their "world" flipped upside down and been expected to just... get through it. But there are times when you just want to scream in anger, and cry with sadness, and kick happiness out of your life temporarily so that after the turmoil wears off, it can become a learning experience and a great memory. It's so clever and well-constructed and speaks to literally everyone. Though we're watching a little girl named Riley, in reality, we are watching our own childhood emotions. I have yet to see a film in recent memory that can speak to every single person watching the way Inside Out does.
The rest of the film is just as fun, however. You're not just knee-deep in your own tears the entire time. There is a lot of fun and a lot of laughs to be had. The voice actors are perfect for their roles. The journey Joy and Sadness have to take to get back home is pure fun (especially when they meet up with Riley's long lost imaginary friend Bing Bong). Trying to watch Fear and Anger and Disgust run a little girl without the guidance of Joy is where all of the comedy is created. It's a wonderfully put together film that anyone can and should see. In a summer full of busts (Poltergeist) and duds (Tomorrowland) and just plain terrible movies (Jurassic World), it's nice to see a glimmer of hope. And, oh look, it's an ORIGINAL film that is going to be so successful and make a ton of money that people are praising. Go figure, Hollywood! Take more chances, maybe?
Anyway, see this movie. See it. It's perfect.
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