We've Got a Masterpiece on Our Hands!

Rating: 10/10 (4 November 2015)

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a masterpiece on our hands. Pixar has done it again. They already lay claim to two of the top 100 movies of all-time with Up and Wall-E and they have now added Inside Out to their mantelpiece. I will gladly go on record by calling this one of the finest animated features to ever be created. Why? Because it's THE most innovative, imaginative and creative film to be made since 2008s Synecdoche, New York.
The beautiful thing about this movie is that both adults and children can enjoy it. As a matter of fact, I'd say that adults may enjoy it more, because they can have a more fundamental understanding of what this film is. It is 100 minutes of analogous brilliance, that changes our idea of what goes on in our heads. Is this idea fathomable or true? No. But the analogy provides the very product film was invented to produce: a stimulation of the imagination. Children will enjoy the beautiful colors and the basic plot. What the children can understand is what they can relate to: growing up and adjusting to life as they enter puberty. They will laugh at things that SEEM funny or the more, for lack of better word, simple pieces of humor. But the true jokes, the pieces of humor that have the most intellect are the ones children won't understand. I appreciate those the most because they're fathomable. It's the moment when you laugh, not because the joke is ridiculous, but because you can actually imagine that happening.
Amidst the hilarity there is also a certain depth of emotion. There is a tear-jerking moment, yes, but I mean more along the lines of nostalgia. The way the movie portrays the effects of the emotions and the rationalization that go along with them, conjure a desire to reflect on oneself in their pre-teen days. This film may literally get into the mind of a pre-teen, but the metaphorical representation is what seals the reflection. "I was like that?", "Is that how I thought then...I that how I think now?" may be questions you find yourself asking yourself. These are the effects of a brilliant screenplay.
On a final and personal note, I'll tell this short story. There is a scene in the film, where two officers are questioning a cloud in Imagination Land about her dead husband. Then, in the middle of the interrogation the cloud herself is killed as she is run through by our main character. One cop goes, "Hey wait...", but as he says that, the other cop grabs him and says, "Forget it Jake, it's Cloud Town." Get it? It's a parody of the famous final words from the classic 1974 noir, Chinatown. I'll tell you, it wasn't very comfortable being the only person in the theater laughing at that joke. It's just one joke amongst many. Beyond the hilarity and, mainly due to the aforementioned reasons I explained, I happily give this instant classic 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it for ages 7 to 18.
This film will be released on DVD/Blu-ray/Digital on November 3 and its bonus features are very informative and engaging. They give wonderful insights to the making of the movie. The feature, Story of the Story really tells you how much thinking went into this story. Mixed Emotions and Mapping the Mind go hand in hand as they provide both characterizations of the emotions and scientific findings pertaining to our emotions. There are also great features about the underrated parts of making this movie, like how the score was created and what the editing was like. My favorite of all of them, is the short film Lava which has become one of my favorite short films.
Reviewed by Willie J., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 16.