Everyone that rated this below a 7 are why can't have nice things.

Rating: 10/10 (23 February 2019)

Oh my god. This has to be the most misunderstood Pixar film ever created.
I never realized how much hate this movie had gotten until now, but, reading through the reviews, it just isn't justified.
All of these are parents complaining about it being too intense for young children, but, this film isn't for them. I found that it reached out to a completely new audience, one that Pixar hasn't really touched upon recently, and that is pre-teens and teenagers that suffer from depression.
I am now 14 years old, and this film came out at just the right time for me, when things were taking a turn for the worst. I was going through depression and suicidal thoughts for reasons that I don't want to talk about, around the time in which this film was released. I hadn't seen a disney film in quite a long time, and my little sister really wanted to see this one.
Looking at all the generally positive feedback, I decided to go see it with her.
The opening sequence was possibly one of the best Pixar had done since Wall-E. It was beautiful and cinematic, and just adorable. Riley had some pretty gorgeous facial expressions and detailing for an animation standpoint.
As the film moved on, I started to realize how well this film related to my life, and how well riley related to me as a character. Pixar was very subtle with it, but, managed to develop Riley's character so well, with her barely being on screen.
The characters themselves were shockingly complex, especially sadness and joy. (Joy has a brilliant character design, with blue eyes and blue hair which we'll get to later.)
The main plot basically revolves around a pre-teen going into a state of depression after moving to her new home, away from her friends, her hockey team.
Depression, in my experience, isnt what it says it is. To me, it is a complete lack of any feeling whatsoever. When joy and sadness basically lose control of riley for awhile, this perfectly captured the "what is going on inside their head" meaning at the beginning of the film. Joy and sadness are the two most important emotions, and riley didnt have them anymore. A complete lack of emotion, a state of depression.
The rest of the film after that was enjoyable, and a certain character whom I was almost sure going to be a twist villain after that monstrosity that was 'Frozen', turned out to be my personal favorite character in the film. Everyone's had some sort of imaginative personality growing up. I had one.
It helped me cope with stress, I talked to it when I was mad about something, and whenever no one seemed to want to talk to me for whatever the reason, she was always there. That's why Bing Bong's death was just so hard to watch, because of how painfully true it is. I guarantee that 99% of the people on earth have completely forgotten about their imaginative friends growing up. The thing is, he didnt die, he was completely forgotten. When you think about it, it seems so much worse than dying. After that, joy seems to have forgotten about him as well. He isnt mentioned ever again in the movie, but, I'm kinda okay with that. If the movie forgets about him, the audience does as well, which creates an illusion.
Now, let's talk about the ending.
When riley returns home to her worried parents, she seems emotionless. Then I realized something, a slow realization that happened throughout the final scene in the film.
True happiness cannot exist without sadness.
This realization is depicted in one of the most brilliant forms ever, mixed emotions. As riley is growing up and maturing, mixed emotions become apart of her and her core memories. This symbolizes maturity and complexity as you grow up.
This film got me to open up to my parents about my depression and anxiety, and I feel like I have matured just like riley did in the film. Pixar did a brilliant job as depicting our emotions, personalities, and maturity. I love this film so much, and it changed my life.