WOOO! Pixar are back in the game!

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 2015)

Inside Out is the latest film from acclaimed animation studios Pixar, and features a young girl named Riley, whose mind is controlled by a team of personified emotions. Thsre emotions are Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger. However, when Riley's family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, the emotions find themselves unable to cope with the new environment. One thing leads to another, and Joy and Sadness get stranded from the rest of the group, finding themselves in the outskirts of Riley's mind. Will they rejoin the rest of the team in time, or will their girl's emotional deprivation eventually prove self-destructive?
We are all familiar with the glut that Pixar have been through in the past few years. We were all disappointed by Cars 2. We all have our own opinions regarding Brave and Monsters University, but we can all agree that they weren't as effective as, say, Toy Story or Finding Nemo. I am happy to say that this is among the latter tier of Pixar's filmography. Yes, this is a true masterclass in animated storytelling.
Inside Out is a prominent example of the two things I love the most about the studio: their boundless imagination, and their willingness to take on serious issues. The various recesses of Riley's headspace are explored with wit and whimsy, introducing many concepts that haven't been done before in mainstream cinema, if not at all. On top of that, I'm sure many of us have been in a situation similar to our leading girl, where our emotions are stripped away from us as a result of a completely unfamiliar experience.
Kids are going to appreciate the bright colour scheme and the fast-paced slapstick, but adults are going to revel in the more mature humour, as well as the character depth and morality described in the previous paragraph. In fact, I might even go as far as to pitch the words of a few other critics, and suggest that adults will enjoy this more than kids. I mean, I can't imagine little Timmy being too interested in the dynamics between Joy and Sadness.
If there is one thing I have learnt from this film, it's that we all need a bit of sadness in our lives. It helps us reflect on our mistakes, and evaluate what happiness we have already.
Tl;dr see this film, it's really deep and funny charming and stuff.