Inside Out

• Directed by Pete Docter
• May 18, 2015 (Cannes) / June 19, 2015 (US)

Voice Cast

• Joy-Amy Poehler
• Sadness-Phyllis Smith
• Bing Bong-Richard Kind
• Fear-Bill Hader
• Anger-Lewis Black
• Disgust-Mindy Kaling
• Riley-Kaitlyn Dias
• Mom-Diane Lane
• Dad-Kyle MacLachlan
• Forgetter Paula-Paula Poundstone
• Forgetter Bobby-Bobby Moynihan
• Dream Director, Mom’s Anger-Paula Pell
• Subconscious Guard Frank-Dave Goelz
• Subconscious Guard Dave-Frank Oz
• Jangles-Josh Cooley
• Mind Worker Cop Jake-Flea
• Fritz-John Ratzenberger
• Sexy Brazilian Helicopter Pilot-Carlos Alazraqui
• Clown’s Joy-Peter Sagal
• Cool Girl’s emotions-Rashida Jones

The inner workings of the mind of a young girl who must deal with her family’s relocation as five personified emotions handle her thoughts and actions.

Inside Out is an intriguing idea crafted into a heartfelt film. It is about maturing, change, and even the importance of sadness in how it helps us to appreciate the past. Because of that you might find this movie a bit depressing. But I guess that’s the point.

It tackles its themes in a way that doesn’t shove them in your face. Happy memories can become a mixture of happy AND sad over time. Here it occurs because Sadness can’t keep her hands off of memories. Think of the last time you played with friends but didn’t know it. Or that great moment with your family that you know that was happy. Both were happy when they happened but over time they become a bit sad because you realize that moment will never come again and if you watch the core memories that get tainted by sadness they are those types of memories.

There is the presence of an imaginary character called Bing Bong and somehow they make that death sad. How did this movie do that? Maybe because this is a well-crafted film with a great script. It has a distinct message in it that is actually about something. And it communicates that message in fanciful way that doesn’t leave the audience questioning what it actually is about. Yet it also doesn’t feel painfully on the nose. The journey isn’t about the journey of the emotions. It’s about acceptance of the inevitable. Friendships end. Life changes. we all grow up. 

There are real consequences for the characters depending on success or failure. What happens doesn’t affect the world, but it does affect their world. You feel Joy’s desperation to hold things together as Riley (the girl’s whose psychology they represent) struggles to handle and ultimately accept huge changes in her life. 

The mother and father are not significant characters and while important even Riley is just a major supporting character yet we get a good handle on each one. The internal dialogue of Riley that we see played out is not some independent function of humanity, but rather an expression of who she is. And that’s driven home by cutaways of assorted characters and their internal emotions.

Inside Out is a very good Pixar film with a lesson to it. And it has a lesson that is gently slipped in as part of a good and very engaging story. You’ll laugh and maybe get a bit of a feel and you’ll enjoy yourself. Certainly worth checking out!