Inside Out. Pixar Are Literally Playing With Our Emotions.

Pixar you’ve done it again. Somehow you manage to disrupt the emotions of any viewer, no matter of age, nor gender. In their new feature ‘Inside Out’ we delve into the brain of 12 year old Riley who fails to come to terms with moving away from her hometown. In desperation to make Riley happy, joy and sadness, two complete parallels come together on an adventure to stop her from running away before it’s too late. Pixar often have the reputation of playing with viewers emotions, so much so that they finally made a film about just that. ‘Inside Out’ is a great concept with an enjoyable story and stunning animation, it’s hard to pick fault with any film they produce, unless of course, we’re talking about ‘Cars’.

Throughout the course of any Pixar film the audience watching may experience a whirl of emotions such as: fear, anger, disgust, sadness and Joy. The last two being the most prominent, which is interesting seeming that these are the names and personalities given to the main characters. Inside of Riley’s head we are greeted by five unique figures that control how Riley acts and thinks. Riley’s emotions begin to collapse and mutate as she is taken right from her hometown in Michigan all the way to the dull, polluted metropolis of San Francisco. Trying to cope with losing her friends and starting a new life is hard for Riley and she doesn’t take it well, distancing herself from her own family and attempting to run away. This intriguing yet slightly crude story is very engaging and is incredibly easy to watch, whether you’re an adult or a child. A good story needs to capture everyone’s attention and ‘Inside Out’ does just that, it’s without a doubt that Pixar are the masters of family film and animation.

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The casing was wonderful, I could not have agreed more with the line up that Pixar chose to play each character, each actor is the biological definition of the emotion they played in the film. Joy, played by comedian and actress Amy Poehler is the more excitable and extroverted of the lot, making sure almost all of Riley’s memories are joyous. Sadness is played by Phyllis Smith, most known for playing the role Phyllis Lapin-Vance in ‘The Office’. Sadness is the dejected and most introverted of the lot, and is a big contributor to Riley’s emotions during the family’s move. Anger, my personal favourite is played by American comedian Lewis Black. From his white shirt and tie to his flaming head, this character speaks volumes… And that’s not just when he’s angry. He controls Riley’s irrational thinking and poor judgement, he’s someone I’m sure everyone can relate to. Fear, the cowardly and dismissive one is played by actor Bill Hader, he is in control of keeping Riley safe, but also anxious. Although very fearful, he’s pretty level headed and can control a situation… sometimes. Lastly we have Disgust, played by ‘The Mindy Project’ star Mindy Kaling she is the more snobbish one of the lot and is in charge of Riley’s impeccable fashion taste and avoiding broccoli.

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Animation was perfect, there wasn’t a frame that was reused or recycled. Every scene had so much detail and reference and nothing was compromised. There was as much thought that went into the animating process that went into the story telling. Pixar know it’s important to keep consistent and to have a good flow, that’s what makes their films so beloved. They basically fabricated computer animation, but somehow with every Pixar film they release, they manage to re-invent it. Even though ’Inside Out’ is set in the Pixar universe, each character looked unlike any other. Their design was so unique and intriguing, yet incredible familiar. Even though each human held these essential emotions they were all unique to person they represented. For example, Riley’s Dad’s emotions all sported the same moustache that sat dominantly on his lip. It’s small details like these that make this film all the more enjoyable.

‘Inside Out’ is hilarious, every Pixar film is funny to both children and adults, and I’m not just saying that. There’s a lot of adult humour and relatable situations, which makes this film all the more incredible. It was cuddly, yet provoked some some serious messages, Pixar don’t just entertain their audience, they also educate them. This is important due to it being a children’s film, it’s nice to see Pixar giving parents a helping hand it telling their children what and what not to do, and doing it in such an entertaining and enjoyable matter. Now does ‘Inside Out’ obtain some of pixars patented ‘heart-breaking’ moments? Yes, it’s not Pixar without it’s their style of ‘taking your emotion on a rollercoaster.’ However I won’t spoil it for you, you’ll just have to watch it.

‘Inside Out’ is THE animation film of the summer, I don’t care about your silly yellow minions that sole purpose is only to sell unwanted and overpriced merchandise because ‘Inside Out’ has it all: great laughs, great characters, an amazing story and a dash of emotional instability. Will this animation play with your emotions? Defiantly. Should you watch it? Yes. What if I’m an adult without children and people think I’m weird, should I still watch it? Of course. Take your kids, take your parents, your grandparents, HELL take your dog, everyone should watch ‘Inside Out’, which is why I’m rating it a solid 9/10.

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