Inside Out
The latest Disney-Pixar release, “Inside Out”, is sure to be a summer blockbuster, both for kiddos and their parents. Both entertaining and psychologically clever, we are shown a world inside the brain of 11 year old Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), referred to as “headquarters”, guided by her emotions, represented by colorful characters in the control center of her head.
As Riley’s family moves from their Midwestern life in Minnesota for a new job opportunity in San Francisco, she struggles to adjust to a new city, new house, new friends and many different emotions. The 5 emotions competing for control are Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The premise is that emotions affect us and our memories, and more specifically, our “core memories” which create our personalities.
With all of the changes occurring in Riley’s life, Joy is on a mission to help keep her happy and upbeat, while all of the other emotions keep trying to take the lead. While trying to protect core memories from being touched and affected by Sadness, both Joy and Sadness are whisked far away from Headquarters, leaving Riley only able to feel anger, fear, and disgust.
Thus begins the adventure of Joy and Sadness (and Bing Bong, a forgotten imaginary childhood friend) to trek back to headquarters to ensure Riley’s happiness. While witty and comical, “Inside Out” is also an interesting perspective of the process of growing up and how powerful and complicated emotions can be. A Solid 9 out of 10 for the whole family!
