For over two decades the animation juggernaut, Pixar, has asked some tough questions: “What if toys had emotions?” Then they asked, “What if bugs had emotions?” followed by, “What if cars, monsters, robots, and fish all had emotions?” Well, the Oscar-winning production company’s newest instalment Inside Out, asks us, “What if emotions had emotions?’”
Meet Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias), just another normal 11-year-old girl finding her way through life and discovering who she is as a person. Guiding Riley on the path are her five core feelings: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust.
The inside of Riley’s head looks like an office. The five feelings manifest as characters on screen each portraying their respective emotions. As viewers, we get to watch as these zany ‘fairy-type-things’ control and craft everything that is Riley’s existence.
Up until now they’ve been doing a great job – but that is only until Riley’s parents decide that the next step in their lives is to move to a new city. This fundamentally changes everything that Riley and her live-in brainworkers have so far been used to (or prepared for).
Soon, all sense of balance disappears as the mix of emotions start to mess with Riley as a result of the relocation. ‘Joy’, voiced by Amy Poehler, begins to lose control of the other more frenzied feelings friends among the chaos, and ‘Sadness’ begins to negatively impact on Riley’s long-term and core memories.
Soon, in classic Disney style, there’s a quest that explores each facet of her personality as Joy and Sadness are separated from ‘headquarters’. Given Joy is the very key to Riley’s happiness, they must immediately find their way back – an adventure that leads them into places like Imagination Land, The Dream Factory and The Memory Bank. These are all brilliant concepts that, when visualised by the Pixar artists, look absolutely amazing.
Given the Pixar’s track record I can’t even pretend that the studio surprised me with this marvellous film. It is well crafted in every sense: the animation is tight and comes with a Michael Gianchino soundtrack that magically flows with the punchy script and clever characters.
And damn this movie about emotions that really made me me feel some! Inside Out is oh-so-touching at points and further solidifies the mantle Pixar has held since Toy Story 3 for making big kids cry as well.
This is a great film for olds and the youngs and delivers on all levels as you would expect of a Disney Pixar movie. Even the classic pre-film short movie nails it as a farcical concept that comes with the standard voice cameo by John Ratzenberger.
There are a lot of animation movies being released in 2015. They’re cheaper to make and A-listers can get away with making millions recording lines in their pyjamas. Kids love them and technology is ever-improving, however Inside Out proves once again that Pixar is the yardstick for ALL studios, and this comes from their ongoing commitment to great storytelling.