Why You Should Go See Pixar's "Inside Out"

By Elana Goodwin on June 26, 2015

Forget “Jurassic World” — the must-see movie of the summer is Pixar’s “Inside Out,” which opened in theaters June 19.

With a stellar cast of actors and a unique and inspired story, “Inside Out” is both poignant and funny, and will appeal to audiences of all ages. (Minor Spoilers Ahead.)

Photo Credit: cnbc.com

While juggernaut “Jurassic World” may be dominating the box office and setting records, “Inside Out” also achieved a significant record as it has the best opening weekend of all time — raking in $90.4 million — for a movie based on an original idea.

That original idea being a movie that takes you inside the character, rather than focusing on the external, and really delving into emotions and feelings and exploring why we are the way we are. In “Inside Out,” 11-year-old Riley has to learn how to adapt after she and her parents move from Minnesota to San Francisco. And trying to guide Riley are her emotions: Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Fear (voiced by Bill Hader), Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kaling), Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), and Anger (voiced by Louis Black).

These five emotions, located in “Headquarters” in Riley’s mind, help Riley navigate through life, and attempt to help her adjust to living in San Francisco with a new house, school, hockey team, etc. Joy tends to be the main one in charge in Riley’s mind as she’s a pretty happy kid, and so when things go awry in Headquarters and Joy and Sadness end up a long way from Headquarters, they must figure out how to get back so Riley can be happy.

Along the way, Joy and Sadness end up bonding, and their journey helps the audience learn some important lessons, such as sadness is just as important as joy, that getting older and going through changes can be hard but it’s how we grow, and that replacing childhood memories with new important ones is just a part of growing up.

One of the reasons “Inside Out” works so well is because of its writer and director, Pete Docter. Docter was also behind the very successful Pixar movie “Up,” which is comparable to “Inside Out” as they’ve both struck a chord in audiences as each film is at once heart-wrenching, honest and humorous.

Bing Bong, Sadness, and Joy
Photo Credit: Disney/Pixar

I saw the movie with my mom and 15-year-old sister and we all loved it. It made me laugh, it made me cry, but most of all, it made me think. What childhood memories have I forgotten? What emotion runs the control center in my head? What personality islands have I lost and which have I expanded on? Is my train of thought frequently late?

But perhaps the most pressing and interesting question many will leave the film with is whatever happened to my childhood imaginary friend? In “Inside Out,” Joy and Sadness run into Bing Bong, Riley’s old imaginary friend, while they’re trying to get back to Headquarters.

Bing Bong (voiced by Richard Kind) is arguably the best character in the movie, perhaps even in Pixar history; think Olaf from “Frozen” except bright pink and an elephant-cat-dolphin hybrid with a rainbow rocket wagon that runs on song power.

When asked about Bing Bong, Docter simply said that “he’s the spirit of childhood.” And indeed he is; unchecked by reality, Bing Bong is the spirit of imagination and fantasy, and he’s the imaginary friend we all wish we had come up with as kids.

Are you sold on “Inside Out” yet? Because if not, the critics and reviews will convince you this film is definitely worth seeing. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Inside Out” has received an incredible 98 percent Certified Fresh rating and critics are raving.

“‘Inside Out’ is an absolute delight – funny and charming, fast-moving and full of surprises. It is also a defense of sorrow, an argument for the necessity of melancholy dressed in the bright colors of entertainment,” wrote A.O. Scott of The New York Times.

Joe Morgenstern, a critic for The Wall Street Journal called the film “As funny, stirring, unpredictable, exciting and riotously beautiful as it is profound.”

Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers wrote, “Pixar’s tour of an 11-year-old girl’s head is a flat-out masterpiece that proves live action doesn’t have dibs on cinematic art. Oh, did I say it was funny? It is, uproariously so, when you’re not brushing away a tear.”

So this weekend, make sure you pencil in some time to go see “Inside Out” — because you don’t want to miss out on meeting the little voices inside your head. Just make sure to pack some tissues.

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