Our Movie Review: Inside Out (2015)

Why we watched it: Great early reviews

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Her review: I admit to not being thrilled at the concept of this movie despite the fact that I have loved most of the Pixar movies (minus the ones about planes and cars). But when the stellar reviews started rolling in, I went and I am so very glad I did. While I did not cry at UP or the TOY STORY movies, I totally did cry at least twice for this one. It is that wonderful mix of humor for all ages and gentle poignancy that Pixar does so well. The voices, of course, are spot-on and, I admit to carrying with me an abiding love for Bing-Bong, voiced by Richard Kind. This movie does a wonderful job of explaining how very complicated life gets as we get older – don’t even get the movie started on “poo-berty” (there’s an alert for that). Emotions are complicated and often cannot exist separate from the others. A wonderful, touching, bittersweet message.

Make sure to stay through the credits: if you’ve ever had any questions about how a cat’s mind works, they will be answered.

His review: Alright, I did get choked up at one scene, even though an other review had spoiled it somewhat for me. That I knew what was coming, but still was moved, says a lot for how Docter and Del Carmen are able to create believable, appealing characters. And of course, much of that credit goes to the voice actors, in particular Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith for how they give life to Joy and Sadness, respectively, in young Riley’s brain. Pixar is able to effectively drawn in young and adult audiences because these are believable characters—smart but not too cynical. And of course the visual beauty of their animation continues to amaze. You do need to see this on a big screen (and 3D) to really immerse yourself in the world of Riley’s brain.

This movie does raise some interesting questions about personality. The aspects of Riley’s personality are drawn as distinctively male and female, while her parent’s aspects are shown as all male or all female. Does this mean that we become more male or female when we gain maturity? A commentary about enculturation? What would the personality of a bisexual or transgender person look like? I like that Pixar promotes this thinking, as it shows they are willing to have their animation get into the complexities of life. This is what makes their films so powerful. And yet they keep their whimsy and beauty.

Definitely another strong film in Pixar’s canon. Other than Ratatouille and those Cars films, Pixar rarely fails to deliver.