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Film: Inside Out
Year Produced: 2015
Director: Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen
Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Lewis Black, and Bill Hader
Inside Out is a computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Set in the mind of a young girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), it follows the adventures of five personified emotions-- Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling)--as they help Riley work through a major move from Minnesota to San Francisco.
The film begins with Riley being born and shows her development as well as the addition of more and more personified emotions as Riley grows up and experiences them. The first emotion to come about is Joy, and she becomes the de facto leader of the group. The concept of the film is that all of these emotions--joy, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust--exist in a kind of headquarters in the brain and depending on the situation, make decisions on how to react to that situation. Riley is shown to be mostly happy, but can experience the other emotions at times.
The young girl and her emotions are put to the test when it is found out that she and her parents (Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan) are to move to San Francisco from Minnesota due to a business venture her father is a part of. Riley is an optimistic child, as shown by the driven Joy manning the controls in her head, and tries to make the best of a bad situation, but internal trouble involving Sadness and her uncontrollable touching of memories (changing them happy ones into sad ones), causes Riley's emotions to go haywire. Joy and Sadness go on an adventure involving memory orbs, a long lost invisible friend, and many, many feels, as they and the other emotions try to bring Riley back to the rights. In the end, and after a lot of tears and laughter, we learn that all emotions are important, because they are what make us complicated and human.
Inside Out is an excellent movie that, literally, gave me all the feels. The five emotions and Riley were truly endearing characters that colored the screen as much as they colored the memory orbs they created. Certain scenes, such as Riley growing up and the antics between the emotions, made me laugh out loud. Others, many others, however, had me tearing in the theater. I watched this film during a very difficult time in my life--someone I loved had passed away suddenly the month it came out, and a friend dragged me to it, saying I would love it.
As I watched the film, it touched me in a multitude of ways that constantly reminded me of the loss I had just experienced. I learned a valuable lesson from it, too, about memories and happiness and sadness. Not to give too much about the plot away, but it helped me remember that memories, no matter what, are precious. I would definitely recommend this film, not just because of what it meant to me, but because it was entertaining, hysterical at times and heart-wrenching in others. I would give this film a four out of four stars.
