Pixar goes for plastic

Rating: 4/10 (25 July 2016)

Flaws notwithstanding, Inside Out is a capitalist's perverse dream come true -- however his dream manifests outside of his subconscious is commendable within itself. It's a highly-anticipated film put out by the biggest animation studio in the world, packed with enough goofy jokes to satisfy children and enough reliably maudlin manipulation in the form of homogenized adolescence to please adults. The concept explodes with novelty and the animation is brilliant. And best of all, its main characters all come in fuzzy, furry, huggable forms that will no doubt sell mountains upon mountains of stuffed animals and other such material detritus until the faces of Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear are plastered by fingerpaint-stained hands onto the pages of the haplessly constructed book of icons and dank memes ("o sh_t waddup").
Inside Out is blatantly artificial. The film is mired in concept and marketability, sacrificing a solid narrative - which Pixar usually promises - as a result.