It's time for a current release, current to the point that I haven't actually seen it yet! These words were kindly provided by one Adam James Young, currently running his own blog, right here.
I must admit, I wasn’t
really expecting anything much from Disney/Pixar new movie. After
all, the last films that Pixar had done weren’t exactly stellar:
Monsters University was okay, but lacked humour of Monsters Inc. and
before that Brave was a piss poor attempt to try and be “Brave”
with the princess theme that Disney perfected a long while back and
try and make it empowering to women and younger girls. However, that
went horribly to say the least. Even when I saw the excellent reviews
on Rotten Tomatoes at an amazingly high 98%, I felt something inside
me saying that it was going to be another mediocre dud. Not bad, just
plain average.
Boy was I shocked - not
only was this good but it was certainly by far the best Pixar film
since Up! No film since Up! has had a stronger message for kids than
this. It’s excellent. The story is about Riley Anderson (Kaitlyn
Dias), an 11 year old girl who has moved with her parents from
Minnesota to San Francisco. Naturally moving from Minnesota to hippy
central San Francisco both of which provide a mix of emotions to
experience.
In comes Riley
emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill
Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). The cast is
for the most part. Amy Poehler voices her the exact same personality
as she does in almost everything else she's been in. Optimistic,
bubbly & just a little bit unrealistic. Really if you close your
eyes and just listen to her talk, it sounds like clips from Parks &
Recreation. But... I like Parks & Recreation so I'll allow it.
The real standout though is Sadness voiced to perfection by Phyllis
Smith. Her dry & slow performance make the most quotable lines in
the film.
The story is
interesting and always seems to be on the move. This is because of
the need to swap perspectives in the film to flesh out both sides.
Usually this is never helpful for a kids movie (Osmosis Jones
anyone?) but because of it always being interesting to watch, whether
it be in Riley's head or outside of it you'll probably not seem to
mind.
The many messages of
the film is by the far the best thing about this film. Every kid’s
film should have some important message. The message in this kid’s
film however, it even goes to rival many adult films. It’s damn
well in philosophical terms.
The
message is the importance of our mixture of emotions. It talks about
the importance of suffering. To link in with religious philosophy,
this film is saying the Veil of Soul Making. The idea that we suffer
to make us better people. We need sadness as much as we need joy.
Those events make us stronger. Another compelling idea that has been
overlooked by other reviewers is the accepting that we let go of
things. We lose friends in life. We have to face that facts that we
just grow apart and move on. This may not be a nice concept but it is
an honest one, the whole film had me genuinely questioning things
about life. A rare feat for a supposed “child’s” movie...
Safe to say, Inside Out
is one of the most mature films to come out of the Disney canon. No
real and generic truly happy ending and no bad guy or villain.
(Unless you consider loss of one's self a bad guy but who would?) All
you need to make a great film is good characters, good story and concepts that get your head into motion.
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| Not forgetting Richard Kind's portrayal of Riley’s ex-imaginary friend Bing Bong, playing it to Jewish perfection... |
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