INSIDE OUT   4.0***

 

      The latest Pixar movie “Inside Out” tells the story of five different emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, who operate the command center of  the mind of Riley, a young 11 year-old girl from Minnesota. When Riley's family moves to San Francisco, California, the emotions must work together to help the young girl overcome her distress & fears about a new place and new people, and cope with growing up and transitioning into a new home.  I was fascinated by and enjoyed the colorful cast of emotion characters (both literally and figuratively). While remaining confined in a single emotion ( such as the red “Anger” emotion), the emotion characters are still dynamic enough to develop throughout the film. As for the human characters in which these emotions inhabit, they are only shown in glances throughout the film but are given enough depth to appeal to the audience.  All the voicing in this film is fantastic: Amy Poehler (Joy), Bill Hader (Fear), Lewis Black (Anger), Mindy Kaling (Disgust), and Phyllis Smith (Sadness) all do exceptional work.

 

The movie delightfully explores the odd mood swings of an adolescent, Riley, and how her emotions are all over the place, at times unpredictable and irrational, all of which is shown in this ingenious movie. The emotion Joy strives to remain in control, but  the other four emotions fight for the spotlight. And that is part of the brilliance of “Inside Out” … we see how zany a child's mind can be . Not only are we shown the importance and influence of emotions, but we also see the interworking’s of a child's mind, from the importance of friends and family to an imaginary friend. Pixar leaves no stone unturned, everything you could imagine about the mind is explored in great rich detail. And that is what makes the movie so magical. I have never seen anything quite like this before. Imagination Land, long term vs short term memory, dream productions, subconscious, train of thought and so much more are brilliantly created  here as regions or parts of the mind. It's a marvel to see the entire 'world' within the mind played out in front of us.

 

Colorful, thought-provoking and emotional, “Inside Out” is a film the kids will love for the imaginative, colorful world created inside Riley's mind, and adults will appreciate even more the mature, fascinating look at growing up and accepting that youth is only a temporary part of one's life. This film represents the best of what Pixar has to offer. They dare to be different and encourage you to think while being dazzled by the excellent animation.

 

Rated PG… excellent for kids and adults.

 

Clark

 

PS: Yes I can go from a hilarious potty mouth movie like “SPY’ to a seriously scary horror movie like “THE BABADOOK” and then to a sweet animated film like “INSIDE OUT” . As I’ve said before I go to see ALL kinds of movies… the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY. I haven’t seen a “genre” I didn’t like !!!!!!