by Haley Mitchell, online & photography editor
Pixar has just added another family fave to its plethora of award-winning movies: Inside Out is sure to fill you with wonder and captivate your imagination like only a Pixar movie can.
Eleven-year-old Riley lives in Minnesota with her family, friends and favorite sport all within arm’s reach―what else could a girl need? But her life is changed when her family uproots and moves to San Francisco, an environment which lacks the parental support, friendship and convenient frozen lakes that Riley loves. Of course, this isn’t the conventional girl-moves-to-new-town movie. I mean, who would watch another one of those?
Pixar tells the story from inside Riley’s head, where her actions and reactions are ruled by the five emotions― Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness―embodied as colorful, richly animated characters who have a lot of personality.
Amy Poehler perfectly voices Joy, the hero who has made most of Riley’s life bright and blithe for as long as she can remember. The Office stars Mindy Kaling and Phyllis Smith, as well as SNL’s Bill Hader, are also sprinkled into the mix, vocalizing Riley’s emotions Disgust, Sadness and Fear, respectively. Their unique tones and talents are powerful reminders of how different the emotions are, as they are all fueled by different objectives to make Riley’s life as fun or safe or fair as possible.
Inside Out is also completely different from any other Pixar movie―a plotline is never recycled, the theme music is never reused, heck, even the animation style is something new and improved from the last Pixar movie released only three years ago. The world created in Riley’s head is fluid, abstract and bright, just as you’d expect in a child’s head―yet everything there makes sense.
The story is compelling and rich and gorgeous and wonderful and beautifully thought-out. With twists and turns that bring you to the same tears and frustrations brought to Riley herself and a conclusion that can only be reached through the beautiful character development and Pixar’s heartwarming ingenuity, Inside Out is sure to satisfy.
