Journey into the mind of a little girl turning 12.
Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias) is unaware that her feelings, Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) have voices of their own. Living inside her personality, these voices have developed over time, built from her own experiences and memories.
When Riley’s family moves to a new city, she has to confront her feelings head on and learn that growing up means accepting life’s changes, good or bad, happy or sad.
We say, “It’s psychology for kids.”
TAYLOR: Inside Out surprised me. Here is a film about an unhappy girl, whose success is found in the common disappointment of her lost innocence. Everybody grows up. Everybody has feelings. Those feelings are built upon our past thoughts and experiences. Feelings can change. Thoughts can change. Things are forgotten. Life goes on. These are the lessons of this Disney/Pixar film. I can appreciate its intentions and I am all for the dissemination of complicated concepts to eager young minds. I further applaud anyone who can cleverly weave said concepts into an entertaining yarn (not for me, for the kiddies). The children in the audience ate up this particular serving, despite it being such a deliberate bummer. I thought it was a sad film about growing up. What say you, Fenin?
FENIN: It was very funny and sad also. I liked all the little people that lived in the girls head, the green girl (Disgust) who said, “Ewww, I don’t like broccoli,” even though she hadn’t tried it and Mr. Mad, when he got angry his head would set alight.
HOWE: But did you understand who the people are meant to be?
FENIN: Yes Dad, they are who make us feel how we are: happy, sad, angry and fear.
HOWE: I applaud Disney/Pixar for stepping out of its animated comfort zone for Inside Out, going away from the princesses, the lovable toys or speaking vehicles. They gave a pretty accurate description of what is going on in a life of preteen, even though it’s a few years ago now since I was one. I
felt they got the balance just right with emotions, not too much dreariness, otherwise they may turn some kids off the movie. There were plenty of places they kept it lighthearted, especially when it came to the dad’s emotions. That provided some of the funnier moments in the movie and you could tell by the laughing in the theatre most of the audience (mainly the dads) agreed with me.
TAYLOR: There were lighthearted moments. They also dropped a few subtle jokes for the adults. A box of opinions gets jumbled with a box of facts and no one in Riley’s mind cares, “Don’t worry about it!” Still, I was moved by the film’s message more than its delivery. I felt sorry for Riley, for myself and for all children who have grown up, for our imaginary friends. It’s a very good film and good for you. I almost enjoyed it, but joy is too strong a word. Instead, I’ll respect it.
– Howe gives Inside Out 3 spaceships out of 5.
– Fenin gives it 4 green girls out of 5.
– Taylor gives it 4 paradigm shifts out of 5.
Brian Taylor and Peter Howe are film reviewers based in Vernon. Their column, Reel Reviews, appears in The Morning Star every Friday and Sunday.
