Review of Inside Out (2015) by Mrmoviebuff — 28 Jun 2015

'Inside Out' is the 15th feature from Pixar Animation Studios, and is directed by Pete Docter who also directed 'Monsters Inc' (2001) and the Oscar winning 'Up' (2009).

'Inside Out' focuses inside the head of a little girl named Riley, inside we meet the "little voices" and they are five different emotions. You have Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). They all control how Riley should feel and decide when it's an appropriate time for her to feel that emotion.

Joy is the main emotion here, she is always concerned for Riley and wants her to have a good day, every day. The way Joy feels connected to Riley reminds me of the way Woody feels connected to Andy in the "Toy Story" franchise. She always wants the best for her, and when Riley feels something, Joy feels it too.

'Inside Out' is filled with some beautiful and colorful animation, a heart-wrenching story and some sympathetic characters. It's one of the best Pixar films since 'Toy Story 3' (2010). Whereas 'Cars 2' (2011), 'Brave' (2012) and 'Monsters University' (2013) failed to live up to expectations.

There isn't a lot of comedy in this movie which can be worrying if you are a parent or guardian that's planning on taking your children off to a trip to the cinema. They would probably find 'Minions' (2015) more cheerful and silly, 'Inside Out' is mostly for adults to enjoy, there is nothing wrong with that, but children will no doubt find this movie very distressing.

Pixar Animation Studios is very good at making their films enjoyable for adults, in that when you watch films like 'Toy Story' (1995), that film basically says "We are all connected to our toys, remember when you were a child and had that one special toy?", or 'Monsters Inc' (2001) would say "When we were all kids, we all had those dreams of monsters creeping up in our bedrooms". Pixar is good at tapping into an adult's childhood.

But I don't want to sound too negative to this movie, maybe kids will enjoy it, all I am saying is, 'Inside Out' is in many ways a classic. A film to be remembered in years to come, I could see sequels and spin-offs based on this movie alone. It's definitely an Oscar winner for "Best Animated Feature", it is touching, inventive and just a gorgeous looking movie.