I’ve watched most of Pixar’s movies—the great ones are entertaining, and funny—and the best ones– Toy Story 3, Monsters Inc. and Up — are entertaining, funny and emotionally provoking. So, how did Inside Out fair?

Plot (without spoilers)

This movie is about an 11-year-old girl called Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias)  who is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler) an effervescent, pixie-haired burst of positivity; Fear (Bill Hader) a perpetually nervous squiggle, Anger (Lewis Black) a red block of fury, Disgust (Mindy Kaling) a stylish snob and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) a blue-tinged mope.

Things start to go haywire when Riley and her parents (Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan) move from Minnesota, USA to a rundown San Francisco house for her father’s new job. By accident, Joy and Sadness get sucked into the depths of Riley’s mind, from where they must find a way back through a maze of realms. I won’t ruin it for you, but the adventures they go through include Imagination Land, Subconscious, Abstract Thought and Dream Productions. In the meanwhile, it’s Anger, Fear and Disgust taking the wheel.

Our Feelings

This movie plays with our emotions in a good way. Inside Out is great for people of all ages, and is filled with heart and soul. I loved the level of invention and design and density of detail of the movie, especially the physical representations of how the mind works. It teaches kids and elders a lot about the human condition and emotions without being serious. It bridges the gap between old and young almost effortlessly, unlike a lot of Hollywood movies.

It showcases the walking line between childhood and adolescence. Whilst Riley is learning to put away childish things’, she manufactures imaginary dream guys, even while her imaginary friend from her toddler days still hangs out in the back of her mind. She’s brave enough to face the first day in a new school alone, but is still afraid of clowns.

Inside Out complicates the effects of emotions, and emphasizes that different emotions can work together for one scenario. This movie teaches us that sadness isn’t something you should suppress and every single one of our emotions are important. Yes, every single one of them.

Animation

It looks like a typical kids movie where the animation is bright and colorful, and there’s plenty of slapstick comedy and sharp-witted one-liners. Everything that happens in Riley’s head corresponds exactly to developments in her new life in San Francisco, which parallels Joy and Sadness’ journey. The movie has a very artistic approach similar to Alice in Wonderland where what’s in wonderland is more colorful and child-like and what’s in the real world is animated, yet ‘restricted’.

Stay Till The Very End

During the end credits of Inside Out we were treated to an assortment of peeks inside the head of a host of additional characters from the film — a schoolteacher, a bus driver, a cashier at a pizza place, a dog and a cat — all of whom have their own crew of emotions working inside the person’s head.

All in all

Inside Out is a breath of fresh air. What are you waiting for? Go watch it!

Rating: 8.5/10