Love or Hate, that is the question

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2015)

--- There are some spoilers after the 2nd paragraph ---!!
Oh the irony. The message of this movie is that we humans need to feel all of our emotions in order to... be human, and yet the reviews fall into only two of those - Joy or Anger. If you are an intuitive empathizing personality, you're going to enjoy this movie. You'll laugh and cry. You'll appreciate "Joy" for her flaws as well as her positive attitude! As for it being a horrible movie, it obviously isn't to everyone; read all the positive reviews. The people who love it aren't crazy, nor are those who hate it. It's interesting to me that the chief complaint is that it's depressing. What? Didn't you people pay attention to Up, Toy Story 1, 2, 3, Finding Nemo, Cars... any of the PIXAR films you supposedly love? They are chock full of anger, loss, betrayal, death, loneliness, co-dependence, greed, addiction (Fish are Friends, not food!) - all very adult themes. Who didn't cry their eyes out, TWICE, at the end of Toy Story 3? At the beginning of Up? Jessie singing "When Somebody Loved Me?" Those scenes are gut-wrenching. Dark Themes? Go review the plot lines to Up and Toy Story 3. Seriously.
As for Disney/PIXAR stealing stories, I hate to break this to you, but every movie plot since the Seven Samurai has been stolen from a previous story. There are no new plot lines. That is not a valid complaint. The truth is, you liking this movie or not is nearly 100% about you, not PIXAR.
-- spoilers --- Inside Out isn't about self-absorption, it's about self-awareness. It's about Joy's misguided mission to keep Riley happy all the time, until she finally realizes that at Riley's turning point, she needs to feel sad, or she risks feeling nothing at all. For anyone who's dealt with depression, we (happily) see this coming, and fully understand that in order for there to be Joy in Riley's life, she has to express/let-go of pain by feeling sad, thus the blue-yellow memory marble of Joy and Pain/Sadness coupled together. But I suppose analytical, emotionally-cutoff viewers were too busy heading for the exits. Too bad. The neurology lesson is fun and creative. Yes, you might have had to pay attention in your Psych 101 class. Don't blame Disney for that.
As for it not being a kid movie, my nine-year old son, who has Autism, loved the movie. Seeing emotions vividly illustrated made sense to him.