The emotions, aka the main characters, themselves are what makes the movie. All of them have an important job in order to help Riley function and make decisions throughout the day. All of them are funny and charming in their own right and according to what emotion they represent. The way these characters' dialogue are written is intriguing as well. Their motives and dialogue work as a representation or parallel to what Riley is actually feeling inside. The voice performances are superb! Poehler, Kaling, Smith, Hader, and Black are all cast perfectly and their voices help these characters give them the charm that ultimately makes them likable. There is also another character that has little to no appearance in the advertisements, called Bing Bong, Riley's imaginary friend from when she was a small child. He is a lovable character and plays a crucial part in furthering the story and developing Riley as both a character and a young girl. Speaking of who, Riley is also very relatable and three-dimensional. Though most of her thinking and development is done brilliantly with the emotion characters, her problems are still relatable and sympathetic. We have all been in a situation like Riley where we find it hard to adapt to a new environment or any sort of change such as a new home, school, friends, job, etc. We have all been in those situations where our emotions are out of control and are in constant conflict with each other, and what are the right decisions to make. Should we be angry, disgusted, fearful, or overly positive and joyful to hide the negativity and sadness we feel inside?
The animation is great as well. When it comes to the animation department, it seems that Pixar is just getting better as they progress to a new film. It has a great blend of a realistic style animation whenever we spend time with Riley, and a cartoon style animation when we are inside her mind. Both styles of animation are beautiful and visually pleasing. The set up and setting of Riley's mind especially, is very creative and well thought out! The style and settings of the film is what makes this story stand out and very unique.
Again, this is a very well written film. It seems very smart and clever to the topics it talks about and is representing. The dialogue of the characters represent the conflicts Riley feels inside, and the troubles and consequences that goes on inside the mind of the girl also shows what she is going through. The writing blends visual storytelling and dialogue cleverly. But sometimes maybe it can be too smart. This comes to some of the problems I do have with the movie. Sometimes it becomes too smart, it feels a need to literally explain what is going on. To be fair I can only think of a couple of times when the film did this, so it's not a lot. But it still feels distracting, because at a lot of times the film explains what is going on visually so wonderfully, that I wished it continued to do that. Another nitpick I have is that the overall message of the film is revealed quite early. Although it is a GREAT message and one that should be though to children and adults alike, it is sort of revealed a little early on. Though it is early, it doesn't hit the audience on the head too much with the moral and is still presented wonderfully. Despite these only minor problems, the film is still a wonderfully crafted, intelligent, and meaningful story.
Inside Out proves to be one of Pixar's newest best! It is smart, funny, clever, and all together heartwarming. The characters are charming, three-dimensional, and relatable, the adventure is fun, and the emotions the audience will feel throughout is one heck of a ride. Inside Out is the return of Pixar doing what they do best, and I couldn't be more joyful!
GRADE: AE
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