Best children's movie in a long time.

Rating: 10/10 (12 July 2015)

I did not think this movie would be as good as it was, to be honest. It is a perfect portrayal of basic psychology, of growing up and trying to make sense of our emotions. Those saying that the story writing was weak or that the characters were generalized, open your eyes. Riley is a "typical" mid western girl, with what seems a charmed life. Those asking for diversity, get over it. She is a generalized character. Its impossible to make a character that every single person will relate to 100%. No one is crying about Andy in ToyStory having an equally vanilla and privileged life. The reason Riley seems to have such a charmed life is because it shows a great contrast between feeling happy and "normal", to feeling how she does when joy and sadness go missing. It shows that no matter your situation, as good as it may be, everyone experiences different emotions. Even the "happiest" people feel sadness, fear, disgust and anger. Some people have said that those 5 emotions are not enough to represent how the mind actually works. Well obviously. Riley is only 11, that's the point. Her emotional intelligence is limited at this stage. Which is why at the end of the film we see that her memories can be mixtures of all emotions. That's the whole point!! It shows that emotions can be tied together and that what we feel can be complex and a mixture of many feelings. I believe this is a perfect demonstration of growing up, and a great way to describe how emotions work to an 11 year old. At such an age where hormones are running wild, she's growing up and encountering new life challenges. This is an extremely stressful time in ones life and can be very confusing. After the stress and embarrassment of moving to a new town, crying at school, hearing that your only friend has moved on already, feeling inadequate at the sport you love and feeling frustrated at your parents for moving her there. Its natural that these feelings are going to be represented by disgust, fear and anger. At times in life, it does feel like all joy and sadness have escaped us. Some say that Riley catching a bus to run away is unrealistic. How? Plenty of kids get the urge to run away. That's not a new concept. Its the logical conclusion for a kid who hadn't developed a great emotional understanding yet. Plenty of films have used the idea of running away. The scene of Riley getting on the bus to leave really makes you worried for her. Very powerful writing to immerse the viewer into the diageses. This movie shows that that is completely natural to feel emotions other than joy and that it shouldn't be shamed. Another comment questioned why Riley's parents emotions look like them but Riley's don't, perhaps its because her parents are more mature and have a sense of self as they are adults. They've already gone through what Riley's going through. Riley is only young, she hasn't figured out who she is yet, which is why her islands of personality change too. Also note that her mums Sadness is in charge and her dads Anger is in charge. Perhaps over time our emotions work out their hierarchy to define who we are, although Riley is ruled by joy now, as most children in her position would be, as they generally live in ignorant bliss and haven't grown up yet and don't understand their emotions yet, perhaps Riley will be ruled by sadness eventually, as we see joy let sadness have her place towards the end. This doesn't mean that she will be sad all the time, it just means she is aware of it. As they show in the end, you can have sadness and joy at the same time. I don't see why this is hard for people to understand.. Someone mentioned that Riley's dads emotions are just stupid and angry and not engaged, and that her mums just long for a life they didn't have and that they should both be more complex. No. This story is about Riley and her emotions, her parents are only thrown in for a funny scene. Same as the emotions at the end of the movie in the credit reel. Just for comedic effect but still showing that everyone else feels like we do too. Those saying that Bing Bong was an annoying unimaginative character- he was thought up by a three year old girl!! That's the point. He even says himself that he's mostly fairy floss and animal parts because that was all the rage at that age. He looks ridiculous because he's the figment of a toddlers imagination. I think people need to open their eyes and see what a masterpiece this film is. No other film has shown the process of growing up in such a clever way. And how could you not laugh at the "facts and opinions get mixed up all the time" line?? Probably the kind of people who think their opinions are fact.. The whole visual representation of the subconsciousness and the forgotten memories is extremely powerful. Bing Bongs passing, or being forgotten is a very significant metaphor, showing that we all grow up and move on, and that its all a part of life. Children need to understand that all of their emotions are valid. Many children's movies have adult themes, and Inside Out is no exception. Its a very mature concept, that it seems even a lot of adults are not grasping. Excellent film for lovers of the mind