Don’t be fooled by the colourful characters and endearing, bubbly quality of Amy Poehler’s voice…this movie is guaranteed to make you cry.
Inside Out is a unique movie amongst other Pixar features, in that it delves into the still-fairly-taboo topic of mental health and more importantly presents it in both an accurate and creative way.
Amy Poehler voices ringleader Joy, marking her entrance as the first emotion to appear inside Riley’s mind, from her birth. Shortly followed by Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). The idea of representing each emotion through colours commonly associated, was one that worked to the film’s advantage and helped connect each actor’s the voice work effortlessly to their character. The performances given were outstanding, each voice was moulded to fit the assigned emotion, without treading into the territory of being “too cheesy”.
The plot line of the story was simplistic, but it needed to be, in order for the complex and clever representations taking place in Riley’s mind to be fully appreciated. Having said that, I was in a screening that was 60% children and 40% adults, two thirds of the way into the film a little boy in front looked to the whimpering adults around him before whispering to his Mum, “Why is everybody crying?” A question that everyone under the age of ten was soon wondering.
Despite aesthetically being marketed at children, I would argue this film is more for people who are not in the stage of childhood anymore. This film can only be fully appreciated by who are able to look back on what it was like to be a child and see the difference. But for children, it is an exciting and comforting representation of what’s going on inside their heads; like science, the Pixar way.
Inside Out is both a charming, heart-felt and funny animation of what it is like to be human, and I would urge everyone to give it a watch.