Inside Out

Pixar introduced the world to computer animation with the classic film Toy Story (a film I still love to this day). 20 years later, long after computer animation has become standard over hand-drawn cartoon features, the studio still does it better than everyone else. It’s not just the breathtaking visual quality of their work, but the giant heart underneath it. Pixar at its best tells wonderful, emotional stories with fantastic characters, often with a stronger pathos than some of the best live-action drama. So it’s very apt for them to tackle the subject of emotions directly with Inside Out.

Specifically, personified emotions, who onscreen occupy a sort of command center inside the mind of the young girl Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), controlling her behavior and stockpiling memories. For much of Riley’s childhood, Joy (Amy Poehler) has been the dominant emotion, while the other four—Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling)—are only engaged sporadically. But when Riley reaches her tweens and moves to a new place with her family, Joy’s dominance starts to come to an end, and a desperate attempt to salvage happy memories takes her and Sadness on a trek through all corners of Riley’s mind.

Not entirely original, for quite a few pieces of entertainment have explored such a concept (and in one instance it rips a name from a certain R-Rated cartoon). But as with apparently everything, in Pixar’s hands it’s a step above the rest. The film’s depiction of the psyche as an industrious world is quite inventive, and more expansive on the idea than any work before it. It’s so vast and detailed that it feels like we’re seeing only part of an intricately constructed universe, with much more territory to explore should there be any sequels, or spinoff shorts like the Cars and Toy Story Toons (something I’d definitely be on board with).

And as with all things Pixar, this world is brought to life with stunning animation (it’s probably the studio’s most lush, beautiful effort since Finding Nemo), a masterful grasp of humor and feeling, and absolutely spot-on casting. It’s hard to think of a more perfect set of leads, so adept at comedy and yet more than capable of a range of emotions (in addition to the five mains, credit is due to Ricard Kind in a touching role I won’t spoil). This might also be the studio’s funniest picture, for the jokes are hilarious and keep landing even during emotional moments that could make some viewers’ eyes water (which is kind of the point, actually). 

Inside Out is Pixar at its most Pixar. In a sense, it’s almost like a look inside the mind of Pixar, and how they’re able to spin a clever story, effective comedy, and deep feeling into a masterpiece. In that respect, the film is smarter and more sophisticated than the average toon feature, offering a lot of ideas for the viewer to chew on. But that’s not even the most appealing part for adults watching. No, it actually offers something much rarer and more precious: the chance to feel at least a bit little like a child again, not in the overused metaphorical sense but for real. The movie’s imagination can only be described as childlike, so unbeholden is it to any overused tropes of film or TV, and so unspoiled and unburdened by grownup gripes about realism or cynical attitudes Watching the picture not only offers a very funny and colorful peek inside the mind of a kid, but also gives the audience a pure, wonderful feeling of regaining the limitless imagination of a child, something most people lose simply by growing up.