Astonishingly imaginative and quite beautiful to behold

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2015)

Perhaps all children imagine themselves as machines managed internally by various mini engineers? I know I did, helped along by the ' Numbskulls' comic strip in my 'Beezer', 'Topper' or 'Whizzer and Chips' comics back in the 60s and 70s! In any case the latest Disney/Pixar effort proves the enduring appeal of this childhood conceit and affirms the greatness of the imagineers behind the now singular studio. Imagination runs riot as we explore the emotional development of a human girl, the early scenes give insight not just to the plot of the movie itself, but also into the flight of imagination that the imagineers are going to take us on during the next 90 minutes. At times the pictures are gorgeously beautiful and the thought behind them so detailed and finalised ...... the way the 'Emotions/characters' have fuzzy almost gaseous edges, reminding me of the nature of life at such high resolution is a stroke of pure genius! Credit to producers who grounded the films leading cipher (Riley, the little girl in whose head we journey) in a modern reality far from the Disney princess model, but who resisted the urge to reference ephemeral cultural memes (making the movie more likely to survive being 'dated' and less narrowly culturally American, than it might otherwise have been (and some other recent similar releases have been). The psychological development rationale for the characters journeys to 'HQ' are sometimes a little convoluted and not followed through, and in the second half of the movie this could lead to disengagement with the plot and the emotional heart line. But the pay off at the end is as warm and touching as one might hope and has come to expect from the imagineers, so all is well. Positioned well for a sequel (and after Toy Story 4, why not?) it's a ride I would take again and again. Beautiful, warm, touching and potentially timeless.