Deep, Inside and Out

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2015)

Of Pixar's 15 films there has been an unspoken promise made before you go to the theater, you will see something magical. If you have ever felt disappointed leaving a Pixar film it is usually because you had an expectation of greatness and had to settle for "good." Mind you, even "good" is a rare feat when heading to the theater. Inside Out, Pixar's latest venture, achieves greatness in a similar way to Wall-E, a high compliment. While maintaining a child friendly and beautiful atmosphere, there is a very dark undertone that children may not fully understand but will undoubtedly feel.
When Riley Anderson is forced to move from Minnesota to California with her family, a very familiar plot is set in motion. A child has to adapt to change at an uncomfortable pace, but will learn that the difficulty and discomfort is part of what makes an adventure an adventure. This usually happens when a wise or eccentric character provides the protagonist with some profound lesson that will come in handy to overcome the antagonist in the foreign environment. This is nothing like Inside Out. I might even argue that this film is without an antagonist. The way this story unfolds is something like Inception for children. This story is substantially easier to follow, but equally deep in possibilities and structure.
The other side of this story is set in the mind of Riley. Her emotions take on their own physical presence in a mental control center. These emotions are Joy (Amy Poheler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), And Disgust (Mindy Kailing). From birth, Riley's life experiences are monitored and assigned a feeling by these characters. This is less a battle for control and more of a coworker dynamic, attempting to keep the brain power plant operating smoothly. The emotions function as a unit the same as countless other creatures that do the grunt-work of maintaining Riley's memories and her mental labyrinth of storage to organize them. The most compelling physical representations of Riley's mind take form in her core memories. All of these constructs are unique to her, as I doubt that everyone's core memories have a 25% section devoted to hockey.
The darkest undertone in this film is just what is at stake in the conflict. Other Pixar features may have life and death hanging in the balance, Inside Out holds an 11 year-old girl's personal identity and sanity over oblivion, literally! There are moments when the dark possibilities seem a little trivialized by the obligatory cuteness of the animated mind, but it does little rob adult viewers from imagining some truly heavy weight implications.
This may not be the best Pixar adventure. The voice cast is well chosen and ceaselessly entertaining, but the balance between the inside and out favored the inside a little too frequently. In hindsight this is a petty criticism, but the film is still in the company of some of the most monumental achievements in animation, holding its own.
On a side note, because this is a Pixar feature it is preceded by an animated short. This may be the best one yet. It would be criminal to spoil anything, so go in fresh and be delighted.