Movie Review: "Inside Out" (Pete Docter, 2015)

I GOTTA FEELING: A REVIEW OF “INSIDE OUT” by Maxwell Meyers

Above: an emotional day in the latest Pixar opus. Photo ©Walt Disney Pictures

There are few cinematic things I hold dearer (or to higher standards) than Pixar films.  That said, most of Pixar’s recent work (“Cars 2,” “Brave,” and “Monsters University”) has been low-caliber—something that makes their latest animated adventure, “Inside Out,” a return to form.  On the surface, it’s the story of a twelve-year-old girl named Riley.  Yet the real stars of the film are her emotions—Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader) and Anger (Lewis Black).

For story purposes, these abstract feelings are envisioned by director Pete Docter (“Up”) as humanoid beings operating from the “headquarters” of Riley’s brain (see what they did there?).  Together, they operate Riley’s soul with smooth efficiency…until Riley’s parents move the family from Minesota to San Francisco.  Blindsided by Riley’s traumatizing first day at her new school, Joy and Sadness are shot into the vast canyons of the mind, a plunge that forces them to try and salvage Riley’s happiness before she loses herself.

On paper, this concept sounds abstract.  Yet “Inside Out” does something astounding—it takes a simple story and executes it with aplomb that generates more emotional complexities than any viewer could have imagined.  What’s more, by focusing on a single period in Riley’s life (the move to SF), Mr. Docter is able to map out Riley’s inner turmoil and personality without overdramatizing them.  He clearly understands that when you’re dealing with finer details of the brain and emotions, smaller is better.

By the way—kudos to Mr. Doctor for making me cry in a movie theater.  Like his other films, this one is an amazingly heartfelt journey, not least because of its message—that we cannot exist purely on joy, anger, or sadness.  Like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (my favorite romantic movie of all time), “Inside Out” insists movingly that painful memories are meant to be embraced, not suppressed.

I don’t have enough wonderful things to say about “Inside Out,” though it certainly isn’t Pixar’s most momentous achievement.  I say this not to spite the studio’s efforts, but because of the high standards the brain trust at Pixar sets for themselves.  With beautifully inventive movies like “Finding Nemo” and “Monsters Inc.,” they’ve raised the bar for family films, and the highs they’ve soared to are part of the reason why I’ve had to made people angry by criticizing relative Pixar lows, like “Brave” and “Monsters University.”

“Inside Out,” of course, is superior to those movies.  All in all, I would give it an A- because by taking massive ideas and executing them on an intimate level, it becomes an understandable, relatable, and entertaining Pixar adventure.  I can’t wait till it comes out on Blu-ray and DVD so I can watch it again.