Inside Out (2015) - Film Review

Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Bill Hader & Mindy Kaling

Screenplay: Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve & Josh Cooley

Directed By: Pete Docter

Certificate: U

 

Pixar is one of those companies that's respected for good reason. Giving us some of the most iconic and well-loved films in recent memory, such as the Toy Story series (one of the strongest film trilogies ever made), Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo, it's little wonder why the company is so revered. But lately, audiences seem to be picking up on a downtrend in quality with more recent Pixar films, with releases such as Cars 2 and Monsters University. With this in mind, it looks like it comes to down to Inside Out to bring Pixar back to their former glory. If that's what the company were hoping to do with Inside Out, then they can breathe a huge sigh of relief...

Inside Out follows the life of eleven year-old Riley, or more specifically, the film largely takes place inside her head. Inside Riley's and everyone else's head, actions are controlled by five basic emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. While Joy is Riley's primary emotion, her happiness starts to dissipate when her parents decide to move from Minnesota to San Francisco. When the struggle of settling into her new home ends up banishing Joy and Sadness from headquarters, Anger, Fear and Disgust are left in charge. To save Riley's personality from falling apart, Joy and Sadness begin a long journey back to headquarters, but time is working against them.
 

One of the many things that I absolutely love about Inside Out, is just the sheer creativity on display here, and just how utterly inspired the main premise is. The way Inside Out so deftly breaks down everything that makes up the human brain, to convey it on the big screen – it's something I can't praise enough. The creative team have left nothing untouched when it comes to memories and emotions, creating concepts such as core memories and the islands of personality. The whole film feels as though you're looking at one large system as it works in motion. From a creative point of view, vital plot elements such as the train of thought and Riley's dream factory – we've never quite seen anything like it in film before, and it's just so creative! There's a rich, and multi-layered script behind all this, and it easily makes it Pixar's most complex film to date. To be honest, its complexity reaches a point where I can imagine it becoming difficult for younger audiences to fully understand and appreciate.

 

But that being said, breaking down and personifying human emotions into five distinct characters, is something younger audiences will definitely grasp, and this film is possibly the best way of explaining to children, just how emotions work. Even if there are times where Inside Out becomes too difficult to follow, kids will still enjoy the vibrant animation on show here. As I suppose we've come to expect from Pixar, the animation is stunning, colourful and slick. Some little details I really liked included the blue-ish glow that surrounded Joy, or how all the emotions looked a bit like they were made of a sponge-like material. Michael Giacchino's music score is just as beautiful as the animation – the music is often light and delicate, but there are moments where it can become suitably dramatic when needed. Each of Riley's emotions also makes for great and distinctive characters, and for me, Anger and Sadness were the highlights. Anger is easily the funniest of the emotions, and I really liked his design, particularly the button-up shirt and tie. Meanwhile, Sadness is just so … sad and down all the time that there are moments where the character is adorable, while also maintaining a quiet intelligence. All of the emotions are brilliantly voiced, with particular mention going to Amy Poehler and Phyliis Smith as Joy and Sadness, though each actor is perfectly cast in their role.

 

The tale that Inside Out tries to tell is what makes the film something that absolutely everybody should watch, not just kids. Inside Out gives us a story of transition, between childhood and adolescence, and just how difficult that time is. It's a time in their lives that everyone will eventually look back on, and having not too long ago gone through this stage in my own life, it feels as though Inside Out understands how much of a challenge this phase of life is. There's a wonderful message at the heart of Inside Out, and its incredibly mature considering how it caters for younger audiences as well. The film has the confidence to say that it's okay to be sad, and that you don't always have to be bursting with joy and happiness. Sadness is something we might not like, but that we all need, because out of sadness comes happiness. There are plenty of sad and touching moments sprinkled throughout – the most poignant for me being Bing Bong's last scene. Up until his last scene, Bing Bong could have really just been a straight-up comic relief character, the film already has required depth with its premise and characters. However, Bing Bong's last scene turns this comic relief into something else. It's a scene that brings me to tears, and I never thought I'd be saying that about an imaginary friend who's a mixture of candyfloss, a cat, an elephant and a dolphin, and who cries sweets.

 

Now I've seen other reviews of Inside Out, and I've also had friends tell me that they think the film is overrated or not as good as everyone makes it out to be. Now, like nearly every other point of view, I respect this approach. At the same time, I also disagree. One criticism I've seen is that the film is too sad and depressing, and isn't as funny as other Pixar films. It's true that this is far from being Pixar's funniest film, but Inside Out manages to make you cry and laugh. A lot of the time, most of the humour comes from Anger or Fear, but there are plenty of other moments, including a funny scene where we see just why facts and opinions can be so easily confused. Another, perhaps more serious criticism I've heard, concerns all the obstacles Joy and Sadness face in their efforts to get back to headquarters. A friend of mine argued that all the film is about is seeing Joy and Sadness hopelessly try and get back, and that their circumstances are unfair. If you share this opinion, then I'd argue you're perhaps looking at Inside Out too literally. Whenever I watch this film, my eyes see it as one huge metaphor for growing up – you can't help everything's that going on inside your head, it's just happening and it can't be prevented.

 

So what's my overall opinion of Inside Out? Well let's just say that if this film didn't bring Pixar back to form, then nothing will. For me, it's easily the best film of 2015 so far, and I can't really see it being knocked into second place by any other film this year. It's an absolutely inspired, creative film with meaningful messages at its heart, and it makes you both laugh and cry. It's bolstered even further by some vibrant and colourful animation that brings a sense of fun to the film, whilst also featuring great performances all round for some equally great characters. Like I've said, Inside Out may not be Pixar's funniest film, but for me, it's definitely their best. Yes, I just said that, Inside Out is even better than the likes of Toy Story, Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo.

 

 

Inside Out



10/10