Emotional manifestations are just like imaginary boyfriends from Canada

Rating: 9/10 (29 June 2015)

The first Inside Out trailer didn't impress me all that much. It showcased some typical character stereotypes; the unresponsive moody teenager, the sports-obsessed, distracted and distant dad, the romance reminiscing mum. 2 of these still remain in the film, but that trailer omits some crucial bits of interaction inside Riley's brain, now missing they key elements of Joy, and to a lesser extent, Sadness.
The character design of the five emotions isn't the most innovative. Anger is bright red and spews fire when furious. Sadness is droopy and depressingly blue. Disgust is a nauseous shade of green. The brilliance is however from the casting of the voice actors which lends some much needed nuance and expression to the pivotal characters. In particular Lewis Black as the ever exasperated and highly tense Anger who regularly loses control and pushes Riley into action. The star is of course Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler as the ever bubbly point of optimism and the command of Riley's brain. Joy starts off as a very positive and over-eager character, if not a little pushy, but Poehler displays a wider emotional range as the film progresses. A subtle symbol of maturity shows up in the more orderly and cooperative emotions of the parents at their control panels. One might see these as evolutions into empathy and fairness respectively.
Some have expressed unsatisfactory concerns at the overall execution of the concept itself. After all, it's not the most original concept: the sitcom Herman's Head, the comic strip The Numbskulls, Osmosis Jones... Some have even remarked that it is surprisingly mechanical for a Pixar film; it feels less like Riley reacting to the real world and more just simplistic caricatures pushing buttons and her responding to them. There's an alternate interpretation that I can offer in that it actually is the other way around. Sadness isn't just an annoying character looking to push buttons (literally and figuratively) and cause trouble for Riley; rather it's Riley missing home and hockey and friends as a natural reaction that causes Sadness to act up and this manifests in her actions in messing with the core memories. Maybe satisfying for some, but it does slightly undercut the fantastic execution of the concept of the emotions when Joy and Sadness leave in the dinner scene, where Disgust, Fear and Anger try to mimic Joy in a very effective and organic manifestation of a moody teenager that fits in with the narrative. Disgust becomes sarcasm, Fear becomes denial, and Anger becomes passive aggression.
Most will start off hating Sadness, the negative emotion who always seems to find herself in the wrong place and wreak havoc in Riley's brain. It's a legitimate complaint, especially coupled with Joy's insistence on being the command and delegating Sadness to a corner (there's a suggestion here of Riley repressing her Sadness). It's with such ease that the screenplay manages to reverse this and change our opinions of her throughout the film. When Joy relinquishes command to Sadness in the climax where Riley returns home, I fully expected Sadness to formulate empathy and realisation of the effects of what running away from home would do to her parents. Anguish and grief and depression that she could relate to, going through the same herself. What I got instead was a much more natural and organic scene. There's no plot twist or flashback or passionate drive that Riley goes through; it's refreshing to let a character break down and be emotionally overwhelmed as a girl her age often would in such a scenario. It's a gentle and poignant reminder that it's okay and important to sometimes let it out and be sad. Recognising and making mistakes like Riley does paves the way for newer, more complex memories.
Inside Out's humour is strong, although that is in itself subjective. There's a wealth of details within the concept that lend itself to funny scenes, like the maintenance workers deleting useless information (Save Chopsticks and Heart & Soul, forget the rest), the mix-up between facts and opinions, the repeating chewing gum commercial. There's also plenty of more obscure material and references that adults might spot (Forget it Jake, it's Cloudtown). And how about the five Angers that reside permanently in the bus driver's head?
Michael Giacchino returns for his fifth Pixar collaboration after wonderful scores such as those from Ratatouille, The Incredibles and Up. "Married Life" is an extremely elegant and emotionally poignant few minutes of Pixar history. His Inside out composition is equally brilliant. The main theme, "Bundle of Joy" highlights a simple piano riff that basks in its ambiance and constantly switches from major to minor keys, contrasting the beauty of joy and sadness. Giacchino excels in those quiet emotionally significant moments, the best of these being the melodic night sequence where Joy ice-skates along with Riley in her dreams.
Inside Out once again demonstrates Pixar's mastery in handling emotionally dense material even in a relatively kid-friendly environment where the line between juvenile and heavy adulthood is hard to toe. It balances humour with dramatic stakes for very real and complex characters. When Joy and Sadness rush to prevent Riley from falling into depression (failing to feel any emotion at all), it's tense and makes for an even more emotionally draining and important scene when they are finally released in her tears. This is Pixar at its most emotionally resonant.