Plot: Emotions Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Anger (Lewis Black) and Fear (Bill Hader) make up “headquarters” – the central control room of 11-year-old Riley’s brain. As Riley suffers from a life changing event, emotions Joy and Sadness find themselves thrown from headquarters and into the outer sections of Riley’s mind. They must learn to work together in order to get back to headquarters and stop Riley from loosing who she really is.
Comparing Pixar’s Inside Out to Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi heist Inception might sound odd, but hear me out. If you’ve seen Inception you will have likely noticed how well the film takes something ordinary that we all possess and makes it extraordinary – everybody dreams and so everybody can relate to the rules of the film’s dreamworld. In the same way everyone has emotions and, like Inception, the rules of Inside Out build on this familiar concept in an extraordinary way. Mood swings, nostalgia, trains of thought and more are all present in this fun, colourful take on how the mind works.
Inside Out is likely to be the most upbeat film about depression you’ll ever watch, with the absence of Joy and Sadness leaving Riley with only anger, disgust and fear to keep her company. Dealing with a topic as serious as this and managing to keep it funny without watering it down is one of Inside Out’s greatest strengths. The other would be its world building – headquarters is only a tiny part of Riley’s mind and some of the film’s best gags come from its exploration of other areas including dream productions, imagination land and the subconscious to name a few.
Joy and Sadness share an interesting relationship, with their polar-opposite personalities gradually pushing forward the moral of the story. There are also some solid supporting characters such as Riley’s imaginary friend Bing Bong (Richard Kind) who steals the spotlight whenever he’s on screen. It’s characters like these that give Pixar films that special something that puts them a notch above your average children’s animation. In doing so many Pixar films broaden their audience-appeal and their latest release is no exception – Inside Out is too smart to be just for kids, it’s a true family film that you can appreciate whatever your age. JC
Verdict:
Smart, likeable and very funny. Inside Out is a film that’ll keep your own emotions busy throughout.
4/5
Screened 