When Pixar released their first teaser trailer for Inside Out I admittedly wasn’t very impressed. The animation looked good but as far as the overall premise of the film, that was a bit of a mystery. Finally when a new trailer which gave a bit of a plot of the film began to circulate I was less than enthusiastic. A movie that centered on the emotions inside your head sounded a little bit too much like the often forgotten Fox sitcom Herman’s Head. However when you have a three-year-old in your home who is often enamored with just about any animation that is thrown their way then you eventually find yourself with little choice and I suppose I owe my daughter a bit of gratitude for her constantly telling me that she wanted to see the film.
Riley Anderson in an 11-year-old Minnesotan who is about to move to San Francisco with her family and inside her head we follow five of her primary emotions. There is Joy who initially is the storyteller, recounting how wonderful and happy life was when Riley was born but that lasted roughly thirty-three seconds until Sadness showed up. The emotions live in Headquarters and the two emotions were eventually joined by Disgust, Fear, and Anger and although Riley has gone through a variety of emotions, Joy is pleased that a majority of them are happy.
Once the family arrives at their new home things begin to change and part of this is thanks to Sadness who seems to be changing past memories from happy to sorrowful. On Riley’s first day at school Sadness creates a core memory that Joy would rather she be without and when she attempts to replace it she and Sadness end up getting sucked in to Riley’s long term memories, a vast labyrinth which is far removed from Headquarters. The two must find a way to get back leaving the other three emotions to try and fill in for Joy. Joy and Sadness eventually find Bing Bong, an imaginary friend that Riley once had who knows his way to Headquarters and the three begin the long journey through Riley’s mind.
Inside Out as it turns out isn’t the Herman’s Head clone that I had believed it would be and actually turns out to be a film which works on a number of different levels. Much of the film is of course set within Riley’s mind as we follow Joy and Sadness on their journey. The film takes actual theories about how the mind works and works them into a context which works ideally for the animated world the film is set in. It’s not just about the emotions but also how the mind could possibly work as well as those who try and keep things running as best as they can, for better or worse.
Everything that Riley experiences is transformed into a memory which takes on the form of a sphere. Most of these at the end of the day are placed into long term memory but some of them become core memories and remain at Headquarters and these are the same memories which Joy is trying her best to keep happy despite some often unintentional interference from Sorrow. As the movie further explores the concept of memories we see Mind Workers whose job it is to get rid of memories which have faded but in a humorous moment we see that there is one memory, a jingle from a gum commercial, that they refuse to get rid of. Instead they delight in sending it up to Headquarters for no reason at all so it will play over and over again in Riley’s head. Although there was effort made to try and present the concepts in the film in such a way that there are true to research of the mind, Inside Out never presents them in a way where they are overly complicated.
The emotions themselves are depicted just as you might expect them to be. Joy, who is depicted as being yellow (and suspiciously has the same color coordination as Marge Simpson) is always positive about everything along of the other emotions the one she doesn’t necessarily want to have around is Sadness is colored blue and she does everything possible to try and keep her from having any interactions with Riley’s emotions. Disgust is green, a color which also could have worked with envy, Anger is an appropriate red, and finally Fear is shown as being purple. Even without the colors though most will quickly understand what the emotions are and what they are supposed to represent.
I feel however Inside Out goes a little deeper than simply trying to present the emotions inside a young girls head. Much of the film feels like it’s more of a depiction of the various things that everyone goes through while they are growing up. Riley begins to change in various ways and some of her personality traits evolve or disappear completely. The film labels these as being the Island of Personality and for Riley there are things such as honesty, family, goofball, and even hockey, all things which either interest her or are a part of who she is. Again, everyone goes through some type of mental evolution and change and this is what Inside Out shows within the film. It isn’t simply the move which is making Riley change, it’s her growing up as well and with the disappearance of Joy and Sadness there is also an opportunity to have the other islands go down even if temporarily to depict her mental development and change.
However not everything is about what is going on in Riley’s head. That plays a huge part of it but there are times when we also see the same emotions but inside of another person’s mind. Most often this is her parents but there are a few other characters as well and in traditional Pixar form during the end credits we have the opportunity to see it from a variety of perspectives including animals. Inside Out also applies animated logic to the dream world, presents the train of thought as being an actual train which for the most part is rather aimless as far as its destination, and a host of other mental and emotional concepts.
It’s not a surprise that once again Pixar delivers a solid film that comes to blu-ray as a visual treat. I don’t think I’ve seen any of their high definition releases to date which have any flaws. Inside Out is bright and colorful with an imaginative world that truly springs to life on blu-ray.
The blu-ray is a three disc combo package. On the first disc you’ll find the short Lava which was seen alongside Inside Out in theaters as well as a new short, Riley’s First Date which is a great addition to the film. There is also commentary from Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen as well as a look at the female cast members of the film since there are plenty in this release, and a look at the character designs. The second blu-ray goes further into the film but most of the features are a little short. You’ll find supplements which look at the evolution of the film, the sound, the editing, some extra bits from the characters, deleted scenes and few other goodies. The blu-ray also includes a DVD copy of the film as well as a digital HD version.
Inside Out turns out to be quite a surprisingly good film. It’s filled with the usual humor that you’d expect to find in a Pixar release but it also has a story which definitely is going to make people not only think a bit about how their mind works but perhaps even reminisce about their own changes over the course of their life. The only thing about Inside Out is that hopefully it will be left as a single film and while there is plenty of potential to explore other aspects of Riley’s life as she grows older I believe that a standalone is much more appropriate. There might be some humor that younger viewers won’t quite understand but overall Inside Out is one of Pixar’s top-notch releases and is certain to be a hit with just about any age group.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.