Inside Out

 "Crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of life's problems."

Pixar's history as an animation studio is really remarkable.  After its partnership with Disney, it produced the very first fully computer animated movie in history: Toy Story.  It changed the industry forever; non-musical narratives, 3D characters and environments, and contemporary humor and dialogue became the standard for American animated movies by the time Toy Story celebrated it's 10th birthday.  Now here we are, celebrating its 20th birthday, and how much does Inside Out owe to what's come before it?  Well, everything and nothing.  It's no secret that the past four years have seen Pixar at its lowest point, with sequels and prequels no one asked for and a fantasy that should have been epic but came up short. Hell, last year there was no Pixar movie, and did people riot in the streets?  No. It appeared as though Pixar had just lost its edge.

However, the studio that changed everything came roaring back with a vengeance this summer with a film helmed by Pete Doctor (director of Up and Monsters, Inc.).  You want memorable characters?  Creativity?  Impeccable animation and voice acting?  Do you want your children to cry like you cried when Mufasa died?  Then buddy, why haven't you seen Inside Out yet?  The world that Doctor and the rest of the creative team have created is beyond anything I was expecting from a movie featuring characters manifested as color-coded emotions.  The themes and message of the movie work in conjunction with the story and characters in ways that make it all look so easy, though I would bet a million bucks that it wasn't.  Like Up, there is so much emotion running through the veins of the movie that it takes on a life all its own, and can easily stand among Pixar's best.

Riley is a girl from Minnesota who lives with her two loving parents.  She loves playing hockey and spending time with her family and friends, all the while five little entities in her mind demonstrate what she's going through on a totally different level.  These emotions manifest themselves in Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).  These emotions all work in conjunction to keep Riley safe, happy, and healthy (at least in the psychological sense).  They all influence Riley (though rarely ever directly affect her actions) through a control console that they all share, with Joy more or less hogging the panel to keep Riley happy while ignoring Sadness entirely.  When Riley's family moves to San Francisco, one bad thing happens after the next happens to them.  She misses her old life and the way things used to be, and while her emotions scramble to figure out how best to keep her happy, Sadness keeps interfering with Riley's old core memories (manifested as crystal ball-like orbs), which leads the other emotions to wonder why she's even there.

It might appear from that summary of the film's first act that Sadness is the film's main antagonist, but that's the beauty of Inside Out.  It defies expectations, constantly leading the audience down a path that should be riddled with cliches but instead decides to linger on its ideas and develop its themes until we're left with something much deeper than we were expecting.  That's not to say that the story is complicated; it's actually simple and straightforward.  There are no underwhelming subplots to muddle the main parallel stories - the one dealing with Riley in the real world and the adventures the emotions are having - which are both tightly written and executed.  While the concept of emotions having emotions isn't exactly new (even Osmosis Jones toyed with this concept), it's never been so well-realized.

The casting is incredibly on point; more specifically, Poehler, Black, and Smith were born to play these roles.  Even though celebrity casting in animation can be distracting, the actors disappear into their roles thanks to the engaging story and incredible animation.  Each of the emotion characters are designed with an aura about them that demonstrates exactly what they are; tangible realizations of intangible ideas.  Essentially, they seem to be made from tiny, fuzzy particles that glow.  The environments in both the real world and the world of Riley's subconscious are brought to life in the typical Pixar fashion as well, which is to say that they are expansive, incredibly detailed, and filled with eye-meltingly gorgeous colors.

It's best to end here before I give something away, but all you need to know is that there was hardly a dry eye in my crowded theater by the end.  Children were escorted out, parents were reaching for more tissues... it was beautiful.  Inside Out is one of the best animated movies in recent years, and got my confidence up for more Pixar masterpieces to follow.  I guess Pixar's return to form will really be tested with The Good Dinosaur, premiering later this year (which, if it's anywhere near as good, will be the first time that two Pixar movies will be competing for best animated feature at the Oscars... OH THE DRAMA).  What a relief to have you back, Pixar!

10/10