Review // Inside Out

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I think I’m officially an adult now. At 27 I’ve finally identified more with the adult audience at a Disney Pixar screening than the youth. In fact I was so rooted in my new found adulthood that leaving the theatre I was positive that there was no way kids will like Inside Out as much as adults. Youngsters just won’t understand the bitter-sweet sentiment of growing up that’s masterfully explored in the film. But that feeling didn’t last long, adults and children are bound to love the incredible characters and the imaginative narrative that’s delivered in such a heartfelt Pixary way.

Inside Out explores the inner workings of the mind of an 11 year-old girl named Riley. Joy (Amy Poehler) is the first of Riley’s emotions, she’s the heart of the organization which also includes Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). Joy is a bundle of energy, and she’s got a permanent beaming smile. Fear and Disgust work to keep Riley safe while Anger makes sure she’s got a back bone. The only emotion Joy can’t understand is Sadness. The downtrodden bundle of pathos. When Riley’s family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, Sadness starts acting odd, affecting Riley’s once joyful memories. Worried and a little annoyed Joy attempts to protect Riley’s core memories (the memories that influence her personality) from Sadness only to be ejected out of head quarters to long term memory with Sadness in tow. Joy and Sadness are forced into a buddy comedy road trip adventure as they figure out how to get back to headquarters before Fear, Disgust and Anger steer Riley in the wrong direction.

As a kid I thought a lot about how my body worked, my working theory was microscopic versions of me working in some sort of factory setting to keep everything running. Looks like directors Pete Doctor and Ronaldo Del Carmen had a very similar thought process. The different parts of Riley’s brain are incredibly imaginative – from dreams working like film productions – to an actual Train of Thought. The world of Inside Out is clever and very relatable. It might be a little too clever actually because it’s so personal and exposes the thought process behind a Pixar story. Doctor is the writer behind classic Pixar films like Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and Wall-E also wrote and directed UP and now I know his beats, his emotional string pulling and how far he’ll go to tell a high stakes story (this one gets pretty dark). But, this only impressed me more, it’s almost like the Colonel giving away the secret KFC spices and just bating his competitors to do better, knowing they’ll still never replicate his recipe.

Inside Out will explore all sorts of things for different audience members – parents are going to see something different than their kids. Brothers will get something different than their sisters, and twenty-somethings might discover more about themselves than they were expecting. Whatever age group you identify with, Inside Out is going to speak to you and you should check it out. I’m going to revisit some classic Pixar works and see how far this new found adulthood will affect the once sacred tomes of my childhood.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.