Welcome Back, Pixar

Rating: 9/10 (20 June 2015)

INSIDE OUT (2015) centers on an eleven year-old girl named Riley and the emotions that run around inside her head.
The thing with Hollywood these days is that a lot of the same ideas are recycled over and over again; the overwhelming number of sequels, prequels, remakes, and reboots all leave very little room for originality. And when something original comes by, not many people go see it. If only there was a studio that specialized in innovative storytelling and was capable of pulling in a large audience. If only.
Monsters University and Brave weren't bad, they just weren't at the level we expect from Pixar. And with Cars 2 being a real stinker, the studio seemed like it was starting to lose steam. Does INSIDE OUT end the cold streak or does Pixar, the king of animation, finally get dethroned? Sit tight everyone; the king ain't going anywhere anytime soon.
INSIDE OUT is colorfully vibrant, wonderfully voice-acted, thought provoking and emotionally resonant; it's a film kids will love for the world created, but one that adults will appreciate even more for a surprisingly mature and fascinating look at growing up.
But what impressed me the most about INSIDE OUT is how it gets into the psyche of not only what it's like going growing up, but tackling the fear of what could happen, the disgust at what you don't understand, the anger when things don't go as planned, the sadness when you're in the worst situation, and the joy when you realize that what happens ultimately happens for a reason, and life continues to go on despite it.
If I had one gripe, though, it would be that the film focuses a little too much on the journey inside her head, rather than show a little more of Riley from the outside. The scenes where we travel inside her head and back out were some of the best in the movie, and I would've liked to see more of that inside and outside contrast.
All I can say is thank you Pixar, thank you for staying original and, yet again, capturing the hearts of all of those who dare to dream, all those who fight to preserve what little imagination is left inside.