'Inside Out' (2015) Pixar's Most Existential Kids' Movie--and its Most Magical in Ye
Children's movies (especially animated features) often get a bad rap for being light and fluffy, full of simple gags, and, in short, for being "lesser than" films made for the post-pubescent crowd. Sometimes this is more than true (remember Beverly Hill Chihuahua?), but once in a while a children's film will come along that not only appeals to the kids' need for magic and constant visual stimulation, but also appeals to its adult audience as well. (See Shrek, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, etc.).
The newest film in this small, trans-generational group is, without a doubt, Inside Out (2015), the latest release from animated magic-maker Pixar Studios.
I had the privilege of seeing this film during a prime family-time screening. The theatre was packed with kids (and their much less excited parents) ranging in age from "barely-out-of-fetusdom" to "could-also-probably-have-gone-to-see-Mad-Max." I myself did not have a child on hand to bring with me to the movie so that I could blend into the crowd, so I ended up sticking out like a sore thumb, as many people probably wondered why a girl in her twenties would willingly see a children's movie on a weekend evening in the summer.
(It's because I'm sad).
Self-Portrait, ca. 2015
The kids in my theatre made for quite a vocal audience. Think "teenagers-at-a-horror-movie" vocal. They scream-laughed and cry-sobbed for one hour, forty-three minutes, and I was right there along with them--and so were their parents.
Because Inside Out, no matter your age, will enchant and delight, while causing some tear-stained popcorn along with way.
The Pete Docter-directed film depicts the life of an 11-year-old girl, Riley--but not in the way you'd expect. Inside Out begins with Riley's family moving from Minnesota to San Francisco, and Riley's subsequent difficulties with a new school, making new friends, and fitting in. However, instead of watching Riley from the outside, Inside Out brings us inside her head, where she's governed by five anthropomorphized emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader), and Anger (Lewis Black). These five emotions stand at a control bord and govern Riley's actions throughout her life. Disgust might cause her to turn up her nose at atrocities like broccoli, while Fear keeps her safe from dangers like electrical cords.
The centrepiece of Riley's mind, so to speak, is, of course, Joy. Joy has allowed Riley to remain a happy and, well, Joyful little girl. Most of Riley's long-term memories are joyful, as long as they aren't touched accidentally by perennial downer, Sadness.
Joy's dominance over Riley's existence, and Riley's happiness in general, is, however, challenged by her move to San Francisco. All of a sudden, Riley has trouble feeling joyful--instead she feels a mixture of emotions, all jumbling up inside her.
She also gets the tween sass look down.
In an unfortunate series of events, Joy and Sadness get locked outside of Headquarters (get it? Headquarters?) and must find their way back or Riley will never be able to be happy again.
This is where the film takes its Freudian turn, while admirably managing to keep the whole adventure magical and exciting and without reference to Oedipus. Joy and Sadness travel through Riley's head, through such spaces as "Imaginationland," the land of "Abstract Thought," and "Dream Productions." However, the most exceptional aspect of this film is how deftly it navigates the stresses dominating the transition from childhood to adulthood. As her childhood slips away from her, Riley's mind has to change--she must say goodbye to some of the single-emotion simpleness and imagination-driven fantasies that fueled her freespirited early days. (Cue the tissue box).
The film also, (almost unprecedentedly for a children's movie), rejects any villain in the classical sense. No monsters roam through Riley's head that must be defeated, no one's trying to steal her memories or break into her mind--instead, Riley is her own enemy. In this sense, Inside Out is a complex film for kids, but one that will serve as an incredible tool for understanding the nuances of growing up.
Pictured: The Safety and Security and Freespiritedness That You Will Never Feel Again, The End
And for adults?
Inside Out hits the grown-ups where it hurts: right in the nostalgia. By the end of the film, there wasn't a dry eye in the audience. This film will induce its adult audience to remember the first time they were confronted with an adult situation. The first time that childhood imagination and Joy just weren't enough. The first time that memories became painful to look back on.
In other words, the first time they realized that they were no longer a kid.
With ingenious, inventive story-telling, Pixar's usual beautiful animation, and stellar performances from the film's all-star cast (Poehler and Smith, in particular), Inside Out is an instant classic of the animated feature.
Docter's film has proven, like many Pixar features of the past, that animated films are not just for children--often, they have something to say that's worth listening to.
I give this film: 5/5 Lost Youths
