Inside Out is a Pixar Triumph – Review

Inside Out is one of the best Pixar movies yet. It is funny, heartfelt, and all together incredibly endearing. The world where feelings have feelings has never felt so real and honest. I could watch it again and again (and probably will.)

In Inside Out, we get a look at the emotions going on inside the head of a young girl named Riley. We have five personifications of her core emotions—Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Anger.

All the emotions are perfectly cast when it comes to their voice actors. Joy is flawlessly voiced by Amy Poehler. Sadness by Phyllis Smith (Phyllis from “The Office”), Anger is voiced by Lewis Black, Disgust is Mindy Kaling, and Fear is Bill Hader. I literally cannot picture any other actors portraying these emotions any better. Poehler is already the personification of Joy as an actress. If you have ever seen her on “Parks and Recreation,” you know this is true. She is a bubbly and excited actress who brings these qualities to a character who is meant to literally be effervescent and enthusiastic all the time. It’s seamless. Black as Anger is also a match made in casting heaven. His off screen anger gimmick translates perfectly to the character here despite being inside a young girls mind. His explosive personality is channeled into the character of Anger impeccably. If you have ever seen “The Office” then you know Smith has perfected the downtrodden and mopey inflection that Sadness conveyed throughout the film. When played opposite of Poehler the personalities of both characters felt even more extreme.

Inside Out is also amazingly gorgeous. From the art of the real world to the wonderfully colorful inner headquarters of Riley’s mind. Every scene is stunning. I loved that every character was designed incredibly purposefully (which you can learn about in one of the special featurettes.) Joy is portrayed as fizzy and bubbly and always bursting at the seams almost while Sadness is drooping and groggy and slow moving. Anger is very rigid and immovable. Every character has a reasoning behind its design and I think it is very clever. All the different corners of the world inside her head are also striking visually. They are insanely colorful and detailed, almost dizzying in the best possible way.

What I love most, however, is that not only does the movie show honestly how difficult life can be, emotionally, for a young girl, but it also shows how important “negative” emotions are to experiencing life. Without sadness, the good moments in life wouldn’t be so sweet. Without fear or anger, life would be so much more painful. Our emotions work hand in hand, even the ones we wish we could do without.

Also, you should definitely watch ALL the end credit scenes. THEY ARE HILARIOUS. Especially the glimpses into a cat and dog’s mind. LOVE IT. The special features are also amazing. The home release comes with a short called “Riley’s First Date” and it is ADORABLE. We get a deeper glance into her parent’s minds when Riley goes to hang out with a boy for the first time. So funny. One of the featurettes I enjoyed the most though was watching how the developed the characters of the emotions from start to finish. The concepts evolved so much from the beginning that it is very interesting to see where it began and what we almost had in terms of characters and storylines.

Inside Out is releasing on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray Combo Pack and On-Demand November 3rd! You can check out the list of special features below:

Digital HD*, Blu-ray Combo Pack & Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA)

• Riley’s First Date? (In-Home Exclusive Animated Short Film) – Riley, now 12, is hanging out at home with her parents in San Francisco when potential trouble comes knocking: a boy shows up at the door. Can Mom and Dad’s emotions handle “Riley’s First Date?”
• LAVA (Theatrical Short Film) – Inspired by the isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes, LAVA is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years.
• Story of the Story – Director Pete Docter talks about the evolution of Inside Out, from the ideas and memories that inspired the story through the hurdles, explorations and experiences that helped shape it into the film it is today.
• Paths to Pixar: The Women of Inside Out – Inside Out filmmakers, from voice actors to animators to production crew, talk about their paths, their goals, the challenges they’ve faced and the lessons they’ve learned along the way
• Mixed Emotions – Inside Out‘s filmmakers talk about how they decided which emotions to focus on in the story and how they went about creating each one’s distinct personality and visual identity
• Mapping the Mind – Inside Out‘s artists take you through the years-long process of designing and creating a world everyone knows, but no one has ever seen – the human mind.
• Our Dads, the Filmmakers – Elie Docter (daughter of director, Pete Docter) and Grace Giacchino (daughter of composer, Michael Giacchino) bring you behind the scenes for an inside look at the making of the film.
• Into the Unknown: The Sound of Inside Out – What is the sound of a memory forming? Sound designer Ren Klyce describes the challenges – and the unique solutions – involved in creating the aural world of Inside Out.
• The Misunderstood Art of Animation Film Editing – Learn more about the crucial role of an animation film editor, who helps take     the story from its earliest, most exploratory versions, to the final, polished film you see onscreen.
• Deleted Scenes
  • Riley Grows Up – In this scene from a version of the film where the primary relationship was between Joy and Fear (then named Freddie), the emotions begin to notice a change in Riley.
  • Joy’s Decline – Joy’s struggles to make sense of the limitations on Riley’s behavior that seem to be springing up at every turn.
  • Misdirection –Joy and Freddie encounter a group of Riley’s “retired” imaginary friends, including an early version of Big Bong.
  • Construction – Joy is guided through Riley’s mind by a radical non-conformist, Bing Bong, outraged by the demolition of older areas like Imagination Park.
• Commentary – Commentary includes participation from directors Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen, and producer Jonas Rivera.
• Mind Candy – A montage of toolkit and interstitials produced for Inside Out.
• Inside Out Trailers – A collection of domestic and international trailers made for Inside Out.