Review of Inside Out (2015) by Filmphonic — 23 Jul 2015

From the great minds at Disney/Pixar comes an animated comedy about all of our humble minds and the little voices in our heads, when 11 year-old Riley’s life takes a dramatic turn, the little creatures that control emotions do their best to help while embarking on perilous adventure through the fantasyland that is the human psyche.

After the recent disappointments of the repetitive and one dimensional ‘Minions‘ and ‘Home‘, Disney & Pixar have once again set the standard for modern animation with a film that works on multiple levels and across generations, only this time the result is a delightfully written tale particularly effective for mature audiences, as individuals or families.

The extensive writing team plus directors Pete Docter & Ronaldo Del Carmen manage to weave together a wonderfully inventive story that’s simultaneously a family comedy/drama, coming-of-age story and a fantastical adventure featuring creatures that personify human emotion within a fantastical world, which very cleverly makes tangible the complex notion of the human mind and how, quite literally, the “inside” fundamentally affects the “out”.

‘Inside Out’ does a commendable job of using complex psychological concepts like the subconscious and the intricacies of memory within an engaging narrative about the power and changeable nature of human emotion, all by framing them within characters that you’re rooting for from start to finish (both inside and out) and using humour with pathos while cleverly & hilariously implementing emotional references that everyone will relate to.

No doubt this movie makes liberal and “creative” use of psychological concepts, even creating some of their own and it’s simplistic when it comes to the notion of emotional balance… and yes the film has an inherently sunny disposition and sentimentality that may not be for some, but it’s never over-the-top and always creatively handled with the result being surprisingly touching, ‘Inside Out’ may yet turn out to be a great way of teaching children (and adults) about their emotions as they grow the same way that Dr. Seuss’ book taught kids life-lessons while providing a moral compass.

The Bottom Line….

Clever, creative and engaging on many levels, ‘Inside Out’ is a wonderfully inventive adventure of the human psyche and surely another instant animated classic to add to the growing list from Disney & Pixar.