Best Pixar Since Toy Story

Rating: 10/10 (26 June 2015)

After some ho-hum years and too many sequels, Pixar is back and better than ever with Inside Out, a boldly unique animated film that renews our faith in what a giant studio can do with an original concept. Docter combines the strengths of his two Pixar masterworks here: the endless inventiveness of Monster's Inc. and the poignant strength of Up. A truly fantastic mixture of fantasy-adventure-comedy and small-family-drama, it's a genius work of conception, execution and emotion that will go down in the annals of Disney animation as an instant and enduring classic. It follows Joy, the leading-emotion of an 11-year-old girl, as she tries to navigate a big change in her young life. Much like Toy Story 3, we're shown the inherent difficulties of growing up through a fresh viewpoint, learning what makes you "you". It's a convoluted idea that's nearly impossible to explain, and yet Pixar nails it, perfectly shifting between its parallel universes with ease. The humor throughout will undoubtedly have kids and adults in equal stitches, with fantastic turns from everyone, notably Poehler, Smith, Black, and Kind. However, this film's high-point may be the multiple emotional gut-punches that will reduce parents to tears. That fearlessness to be gloomy is basically the thesis of the film: true joy comes when every emotion is allowed to be recognized and dealt with healthfully. It's quite a psychologically complex stance to take for a film that manages to be so kid-friendly. This wonderful balancing act helps make Inside Out worthy of the "M" word (masterpiece) and gives it the distinction of being Pixar's best since the unparalleled Toy Story.