Inside Out (2015) - Mind-blowing concept of what's going on in our minds

Review No. : 0018

Title : Inside Out

Year : 2015

Director : Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen

Country : United States

World’s Verdict : Rotten Tomatoes – 98%; Metacritic – 94 out of 100; IMDB – 8.3 out of 10.0.

My Verdict : 3.9 out of 5.0.

The last time I was overly amazed by an animated movie screenplay was through the movie Monsters, Inc. (2001).  Monsters, Inc. (2001) is a movie about our fears of bogeymen hiding in our closets when we were kids.  It shows us a side of the story behind the closet, that there is an existing industry that profits through the screams of the children.  The concept is just so smart and mind blowing that you will wonder how the writers came up with the concept.  Inside Out (2015) has the same effect to me because it is a movie with a unique premise and idea.  It’s simply very smart.

Inside Out (2015) tells the story of a girl named Riley Anderson (Kaitlyn Dias) and what goes inside her mind. Her reactions are triggered by five basic entities of emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Anger (Lewis Black).  These emotions live in Riley’s brain and each one has a purpose to ensure Riley correctly reacts to protect herself or get what she needs.  Apart from making sure that Riley reacts correctly, the emotions also have other jobs.  It is also their job to protect the long-term core memories of the child and to monitor her dreams.  One day, Joy and Sadness are sucked out accidentally from their headquarters and lands on a place where the things Riley values are located.  Without Joy in the office, the three emotions (Fear, Disgust and Anger) struggles to operate Riley’s reactions.  Joy and Sadness meanwhile meets different characters in Riley’s head and hopes that someone could help them find their way back to the headquarters of emotions.

The Good

• The story and theme – Without giving any spoiler I want to say that the story is unbelievably smart, there is also meaning in the story that even adults will find it eye opening and unlike other animated movies, or any other movies for that matter, the story is unpredictable (except of course for the happy ending).

The Bad

• Don’t expect too much humor – Whenever I watch a Disney-Pixar movie I expect to laugh a lot and to laugh out loud.  Not in this case, there are funny moments (like the scenes with Bing Bong, the imaginary friend of Riley, played by Richard Kind) but it never made me laugh so hard.  Amy Poehler is not so funny in this movie, too, but she did a very good job.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that this movie is more of a heartwarming movie rather than a hilarious one.  I just wish they made sure humor works when there’s an opportunity to make it work.

This is a movie that is a must-see.  Not a favorite of mine but the concept of the plot is bewildering.