I just got home from a preview showing at my local theater. I was actually going to go see Ultron (no, I still haven't seen it yet), but I noted that they had a special showing of Inside Out, so I decided to jump on the chance!
And, wow.
Just...wow.
I'll summarize this review before delving into details. This may be the best Pixar film in nearly a decade. It has the heart of the beginning of Up and Finding Nemo, the interesting characters that make you care about them like the Incredibles, and the chracter and comedy of Ratatouille.
What a GREAT movie! You should go see it. Like, right now!
<I'll wait>
Ok, back yet? Lets dig into this beast!
I won't cover the basics in this review. Meaning, I will glance on common things reviewers normally cover, but I'm not going to divide them up strictly by character, plot, etc...
Also this review has NO SPOILERS.
As a side note, I will say, if you have avoided detailed teaser trailers up until now, don't go watch them. It helps with the film. Not that they give away that much (they don't), but they do reveal the basic plot, which is actually less fun than discovering it for yourself. I'm glad I gave them a wide berth, and after having seen the movie and going back on youtube and watching the teaser trailers, I am even happier I made that choice.
The main character, Riley, is an 11 year old girl who goes through something traumatic at any age, but especially around this time. She moved to a new city. Now, confession time...I gleaned a lot from this movie and it's emotional commentary. Why?
I've...been Riley. Well, no, not an 11 year old girl who loves Hockey...but, I was a military brat. In fact, it wasn't until the past seven years that I'd lived anywhere longer than 4 years in my life. And, I don't mean "we moved to a new house in the same town". We moved to new states, new countries.
I know EXACTLY what it feels like during those pivotal late childhood/early adolescence times to be ripped away from friends and a comfortable environment, into a scary one. I know what it is like, with first hand experience, to have the moving truck be "late" and have to stay in temporary housing or even camp out in an empty house.
These experiences resonated with me. And, it would have been so easy for the film to get the emotional reactions to them, and how especially the semi-aware and developed mind of an 11 year old realizes and deals with those emotions...so easily could the film get this wrong.
But, it didn't. With an emotional punch that will carry, even if you don't have first hand experience of this (everyone has had similar experiences one way or another, and the film does a fantastic job of bridging that specific story gap and using the movie symbolically as well as a plot point.) Memories came flooding back of our many moves, thoughts I hadn't dredged up in a very long time, and I found myself nodding...yes. This is exactly what it feels like at that age.
And, I do mean emotional punch. Be forewarned, this is Pixar bringing its "A" game.
Sure, there are lots of laughs (not just me, the whole theater) and a lot of jokes that are extremely well written double entandres (the "Bear" joke, to an adult quasi familiar with LBGT culture will understand the underlying joke, while a kid will laugh at the funny mental image...and, the joke WORKS both ways...this is family script writing at it's BEST!)
But, back to Pixar. Pixar, at their peak, isn't just about making you laugh. They punch you in the gut and make you sniffle, only to pick you back up again and make you smile. All while giving you a complex enough concept to chew upon and think about even after you've left the theater.
That is this sort of movie.
You will cry. People in the theater around you will cry (the lady next to me and the group behind me were sniffling up a storm), and you will laugh...a lot!
I was initially concerned that this would be some bastardization of the Smurfs (representing emotions) with a dash of Despicable Me Minions, and Osmosis Jones. I thought the character design looked kitch and predictable.
I was wrong. So, lets talk about design. The sets and surroundings are reminiscent of Wreck it Ralph. But, in a very good way. They are colorful and imaginative, and dark when they need to be. They work so well because they play such a perfect juxtaposition to the "real world" animation style and scenes.
Together, they bind into a thoroughly believable world that you can get lost in and enjoy the story. There are not a lot of side characters in this movie aside from the main emotions, but the ones they did add were well done, and serve for the more goofball comic relief that allows the main characters to continue their own journeys.
One thing I will note, it would have been easy to have the emotions conflict with each other in a completely different way than they did. The writers found a way to sell you on the traits of each emotion, yet showed perfectly how they work together well and respect each other. Again, the easy joke would have been a popcorn fare script with conflicts here (jealousy and anger snipping at each other, anger yelling at everyone, list goes on). That is NOT how they related to each other, and that was a very pleasant surprise for me.
The soundtrack is extremely well done, as you would expect from Giacchino. The music is not the star of the film, but it does what a film's score should do, and accentuate the story. It's also very pleasant to listen to (I really enjoy the opening and ending credit songs.
The one thing I will say that was another nice touch is they not only "world built" inside the child's head, they also expanded that same "reality" to others. The mother and father both have their controlling emotions, and if you stay through the early credits scenes you'll discover that...so does everyone (and every living animal) in this universe. A VERY nice touch!
The Forgetting Process is really innovative, and has some nice dialogue.
Ok, now to get a bit more serious. This is not a film only for children. This is a film that tells a deep and emotional story. Yeah, you'd expect that for a movie about emotions, right? But, as I noted, it would have been so easy to take a slapstick or goofy angle with this. But, not Pixar. Oh no. This is a film about depression, learning to cope and growing up.
It does not gloss over things. It deals with them quite directly. I don't want to say too much here, because it's getting close to spoiler territory, but one of the scenes near the end is absolutely beautiful, and tragic. Probably the main scene that led to this getting a PG rating. And, not something you'd expect. It's a bittersweet moment that is classic storytelling, and yet has so many real world implications that, to me, that was the moment that brevity of the way they were discussing this topic (depression) really hit me, and all of their metaphors and references clicked in my mind.
This is a movie that can be enjoyed by all, but I think the target audience who will appreciate it the most are parents. Specifically mothers or fathers with daughters around that age or older. Not that the story doesn't reach beyond that group, but the relatability to it and the beautiful way the team at Pixar handled what is an extremely complex topic, lay more with that demographic. They'll get the nuances of the film at a level that others probably will not, at least outside of intellectually.
This film has heart, and a LOT of it!
In all, oh...wait, I wrote my summary in the first few lines. Go back up there...read it again!
Maybe I'll go see Ultron later this week! Lets see what MY emotions think about the Ultron trailer!?!
So, for making it this far, I'll reward you with an easter egg to look (or listen) for!
As this is a Disney forum, this will mean something...Keep an ear out for this!
I won't tell you the scene (you'll find out), but it IS there and prominent through one specific scene(and I suspect I was one of the few in the theater than knew it immediately, much less noticed it).
