It would be hard to miss anything that is put out by Disney Pixar. It's not like they are small indy films. However, there are people like myself who don't get the chance to go to the cinema anymore (with any regularity) and rely on Netflix, Amazon Prime streaming and getting Blu-rays for presents at birthday or Christmas time.
I love Pixar and Disney films, and recently I have watched Tangled, Frozen and Princes and the Frog from Disney more than I ever thought I would thanks to a 2 year old little girl. So when I was given Inside Out I was really pleased. It might be another one to add to the rotation list for her, but we thought we had better watch it first to see how suitable it is.
We sat down to watch the film knowing a rough out line of what the film might offer, but had actually (and not on purpose) avoided most of the hype when it came out.
The film takes you through the growth of a child and how the emotions in her head drive her. How each emotion controls aspects of your life and can change your perception of events.
The main focus of the story is the journey of two key emotions trying to get back to the main control room after an accident puts them into her general memory banks. It looks at their own personal approach to situations and why each emotion plays a key role in making us who we are.
It cleverly sets up the change from child into teenager and then from the parents perspective and emotions into adulthood.
Reading the IMDB trivia for this film there are quite a few really lovely notes about who controls each person and how, but the one I want to touch on is that it was born from the Director watching his daughter growing and imagining from inside her head what could be happening. It's the imagining of how we process daily information and how it is then retained and recalled later. It's the perfect look at what a child goes through in the developmental stage of their life and how our emotions change over time to form us into who we are today.
It is a lovely tale and easily my favourite film to have been released in such a long time. It hit a chord with me because of having a 2 year old and watching her learn and develop her own personality. Although I know it's not really how the human body works, like with anything Pixar does, a part of you likes to imagine it is actually true, like toys coming to life, cars being the actual driver and rats being top chefs. You don't need a child to appreciate the beauty in this film but it really did add something for me personally. I think this is where Pixar excel! Making any of their films personal to you, your life and experiences, even in the Incredibles. There is something in all their films that will connect to you on some level.
I don't want to give too much plot away as half the beauty I had was coming to it almost completely fresh and with no preconceptions (other than the "I like Pixar").
From what I have read, the film was meant to have more emotions in each head, and while I think there could have been a few more to develop other areas of the plot, I think the 5 they used are perfect and are cast to perfection. Even before they started any animation, they had Lewis Black cast as anger and his performance makes this film even more perfect. For some people they may not know the name Lewis Black, but might recognsie the face or voice, (he had been in an early episode of Big Bang Theory) but has also been a stand up comic for years.
To put a face to the name, check out this video!
(has some harsh language)
Amy Poehler from Parks and Recreation plays Joy wonderfully and it took me a while to even realise it was her. The whole cast is perfect and brings this film to life with such fun and enjoyment that it's hard to think of anyway this could be a much better film .
If you have not seen Inside Out, then I can not recommend it enough, however for a 2 year old, I think I will leave it a year or two. It's not inappropriate for children, but has a few "scary" moments that some younger viewers might not be so good at understanding or processing (the clown is much more scary in the subconscious than it is when we see them in the credits at the end). It is also actually quite an advanced concept. The idea of these people in your head, the concept of emotion. So for now, I am destined to watch Frozen again as it is a simple thing to understand, To be honest out of the other films I had mentioned we watch most, Tangled and Princess and the Frog are so much better than Frozen, in nearly every way. These other films are simple princes tales, or are the toys / cars / animals talking which a 2 year old gets, to them the toys are people too, animals have the same feelings we do. I would argue emotions are harder to understand at this conceptual level and the reference point is not quite so clear for them. My daughter knows when she is upset but would not see it as a person quite in the same way we can for the film.
This film is wonderful and gets a full rating (if I rated films), so if you have missed this gem of a Pixar film, watch it as soon as you can.
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