Enjoyable look inside pre-teen's mind also needs a bit more of a malevolent antagonist

Rating: 6/10 (20 July 2015)

"Inside Out," is director and co-writer Pete Docter's Pixar computer animated comedy-drama set primarily inside the brain of a troubled pre-teen, the film's protagonist, Riley. The "outside" story begins with a content Riley and her parents moving from their idyllic home in Minnesota to San Francisco where Riley is unable to cope with her new environment, causing havoc inside her conscious mind represented by "headquarters" run by her five emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger.
All of Riley's memories are represented by colored orbs which are stored in vast storage areas inside her mind when she falls asleep. However, a set of "core memories" are controlled by the emotions via a control console, which power a set of islands (resembling amusement parks) that represent aspects of Riley's personality.
The main conflict emerges between Joy and Sadness, Joy voiced by Amy Poehler as a perky, bundle of energy who seeks to contain Sadness who continually imbues the orbs with a depressing blue hue whenever she touches them. Oddly, Sadness is depicted as a dumpy overweight girl with a passive-aggressive personality—hardly the stuff of true melancholia. Nonetheless the tussle between the two proves to be the welcome comic relief in relation to Riley's depressing circumstances in the "outside world."
The plot picks up as we break into Act 2: during a tussle over the creation of one of Riley's new core memories, both Joy and Sadness along with the other core memories, are accidentally ejected out of Riley's "memory tube," into the vast, uncharted wilderness of Riley's mind. The goal is for Joy and Sadness to make it back to headquarters before Riley has a total breakdown (the pre-teen decides to run away after feeling rejected at school).
Meanwhile Riley's "islands" are beginning to crumble with Fear, Disgust and Anger left to run the show back at headquarters. Unfortunately the scenarists here are not as successful at assigning distinctive personalities to the three bumbling emotions as they are with Joy and Sadness. I can't remember much about Fear, Disgust and Anger, and due to their lack of distinctiveness, part of the comic potential of the narrative, is lost.
Just like "Toy Story," where a child's companions find themselves far away from "home," Riley's emotions also find themselves struggling to get back to "headquarters," which represent a home base for the pre-teen's emotions. Most of the Act II machinations are food for thought for adults who can revel in all the clever, satirical asides the film's scenarists proffer up. But there's also the neat "Bing Bong," an hybrid elephant-dolphin creature, who aids Joy and Sadness as well as providing comforting grist for the mill for juvenile viewers. The fate of "Bing Bong," however, proves more affecting for adults than kids (he's ends up hero but also the forgotten child playmate consigned to Riley's subconscious, after sacrificing himself for the benefit of Joy and Sadness, in their last chance to make it "home."
The rest of Act II consists of a set of clever, satirical asides highlighting different realms of the internal world (there's a "Land of the Imagination," "Realm of the Abstract," and the dark "Subconscious"). The animators, in particular, get to show off their craft as they depict our protagonists cast about in different dimensions in the Land of the Abstract. The scenarists have their fun with show business mocking the machinations in a dream production factory. There's also a nod to Stephen King, when a sinister Clown ends up running amok.
When Joy and Sadness finally do make it back to headquarters via a "Train of Thought," the perky Joy gives up on her monopoly of feelings and concedes that without some Sadness, their pre-teen charge cannot function effectively.
If "Inside Out" suffers from anything, it probably has to do with the lack of singular, compelling antagonist. While Riley's possible breakdown in the real world serves as a compelling force for part of the narrative, Joy and Sadness's conflict only is good for the comic relief. Sadness is more a wayward friend to Joy than a malevolent entity. What might have been more interesting is if Riley had been pitted against a bully at school and we could see how their different minds operated. The closing credits give us the finest moments in the film—there we see the potential for exploring different minds (including the howlingly funny mind of a cat!).
"Inside Out," is enjoyable for both kids and adults. The happy ending, where parents and child have their reconciliation, is rather predictable. But there are enough clever ideas, illustrated both visually and through dialogue, which is worth the price of admission.