2015 | Dir. Pete Docter | 94 Minutes
"This is crazy, this is crazy! No, no, no, Joy. Be positive... I am positive this is crazy!"
11-year-old Riley struggles to adapt when she moves with her mother and father from Minnesota to San Francisco. The personified emotions of Joy and Sadness within Riley's mind are stranded in labyrinth of long-term memory after Joy attempts to prevent Sadness from influencing Riley's core memories. While Joy and Sadness journey back to Riley's emotional headquarters, Anger, Disgust and Fear run amok at the control panel.
Pixar Animation Studios breaks new high-concept ground with Inside Out, setting the majority of the action within the mind of a person. It's a challenging film, telling the larger story of the difficulty an average person faces trying to find emotional balance during a major life change, but director Pete Docter and his story crew of writers created a miracle of a film, cleverly turning various emotions, psychological concepts and cognitive functions into fully-realized characters and set pieces. Memorable sequences include a dangerous shortcut through abstract thought, a frightening caper in the subconscious, and an extremely affecting daring escape from the memory dump.
Comedic television stars Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith shine as the voices of Joy and Sadness, with much of the film anchored on Poehler's sunny personality and the banter between the two characters. In a key supporting role, Richard Kind delivers performance that is in turn lighthearted and heartbreaking playing Riley's forgotten imaginary friend Bing Bong. Brilliantly cast, providing the voices of Anger, Disgust and Fear are stand-up comic Lewis Black, and comedy actors Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader. Kyle MacLachlan and Diane Lane play Riley's parents while SNL alums and seasoned comedic and voice actors Paula Poundstone, Bobby Monynihan, Rashida Jones, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz complete the supporting cast.
Inside Out is unlike any film before it, animated or otherwise, a truly unique experience. On the journey to maturity, Joy and Riley are put through the emotional ringer and ultimately learn that there is a place for Sadness in their lives alongside all of the other emotions. Few animated films aspire to tell such a complex story, and Inside Out not only attempts to do so, the film succeeds with style, clever humor, and genuine resonance.
JOHN RATZENBERGER AS...
- Mind Worker Fritz
A113
- Riley's classroom number
- Graffiti on the streets of San Francisco seen when Riley runs away from home
PIXAR INTERCONNECTIVITY
- The birds from 2000 Pixar animated short For the Birds can be seen sitting on a powerline at the beginning of the film
- Forrest Woodbush, the mentally unstable Styracosaurus from The Good Dinosaur, appears in Riley's memory of the dinosaur picture taken on the way to San Francisco
