Movie Review: Inside Out

"Take her to the moon for me, okay?"


I don't frequent movie theaters that much, and when I do, I generally have the movie review as a "to-do" on my blog list for so long that it ceases to be relevant.  However, I find it is still worth it to review it.  Today's review: Inside Out!

I know that this movie has been out for a long time, but I still recommend it for that one person who hasn't seen it.

Here's all I can say:  Pixar, you've done it again!  I like Disney movies, but I generally wouldn't call them fine art.  A lot of the time, I can quite freely call Pixar movies pure art, and Inside Out upholds a long tradition of just pure quality art coming out of Pixar.

The story revolves around the emotions that live in the mind of an eleven-year-old girl named Riley.  As Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Fear help Riley navigate life, everything is thrown into a mess when her family moves to California.  It is up to them to help Riley learn to accept her feelings--all of them--before the core of Riley is changed forever.

I loved that this memory appealed to each and every age group.  Young kids will enjoy the upbeat silliness and the bright colors; preteens will appreciate the message of growing up, and learning to understand that it's possible--and okay--to not be sure how you feel, or to feel more than one thing as once; older teens and young adults will appreciate the nostalgia and recognition of that period of their life (both the pain and happiness); and I think older adults will enjoy it too (because the coworker I went with did, but I'm not an older adult, so I don't know why). 

Hands down, the most beautiful piece of animation of the year, and definitely one of the most beautiful pieces coming out any Disney studio for the past few years (and yeah, I'm including Frozen in that comparison, even if Inside Out hasn't gotten quite the same hype).

I recommend it for...everyone. 

Five Stars.  No regrets. No reservations. 

Comments

p said…
Ostensibly, the emotions are the main characters, not Riley. And the ending is then a complete Deus Ex Machina that had nothing to do with the main characters, their journey, struggles or efforts. They're just along for the ride. There was no point to the journey except to showcase their mind representation gimmicks.

I've felt this way about a lot of the Pixar movies, that the writing was just sloppy and poor. Cars/Cars2, Finding Nemo, Up, Wall-E.. I never saw Monster University or Ratatouille to have an opinion on those. There's good animation and film craftsmanship, but bad stories.
November 19, 2015 at 10:45 AM
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