Pixar Has Returned!

Rating: 10/10 (13 September 2015)

For the past couples of years we have worried Pixar was losing it's luster. With the over-reliance of sequels it appeared Pixar was on a road to no longer producing gems but coal. However, "Inside Out" proved Pixar's "gem making business" is not over yet, not by a long shot.
The movie deals with a girl named Riley and her move from her hometown in Minnesota to San Francisco. However, the story is mainly told from the perspectives of her five emotions: Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness. They all work together to keep Riley normal and work even harder to do this once she moves. However, as is expected, something even worse happens leading to a huge adventure throughout Riley's mind.
Pixar has not just created another enticing adventure for us but also an engrossing coming-of-age story. Yes, it is brightly colored and filled with hijinks of epic proportions but in the end this is actually a very intimate story of a girl leaving childhood. We all remember those days when we realized our childhoods were ending, and those days were incredibly difficult.
As we grow older we find things changes, some small and others big. And the simple truth is change is scary. In fact, it can be pretty terrifying, and that is what Riley deals with in this movie. This is not some story of a girl being spoiled and throwing a temper tantrum, this is the story of a girl finding everything she ever believed in disappearing.
Watching this happen from inside her head makes the adventure all the more thrilling. Throughout the movie we watch as both Joy and Sadness work together to get back to Riley and save her from whatever catastrophe that lies ahead. To do this they find themselves in some very amazing locations such as Imagination Land and (a very inspired setting) Dream Productions.
These locations add even more layers to the story being told here. Slowly we watch as Riley goes from a happy girl to a child falling into depression. It is very dark, serious subject matter for a kids movie to deal with. In fact, if it was any other studio I doubt they would've had a chance to tell this story correctly.
Thankfully Pixar had this story and they knocked it out of the park. They tell the very simple, yet important, truth that it is important to feel all of our emotions. We watch as Riley numbs herself from the pain of what's happened and that takes her to places she would not have gone otherwise. It makes very complex notions easy enough for children to understand while still maintaining the complexity. A remarkable feat for any movie to do.
Of course the movie would not be half as enjoyable if it was not for the wonderful voice cast. Amy Poehler was born to play Joy. It would be very easy to make Joy incredibly annoying because of her perky attitude. However, Poehler finds the right balance to make her very charming. The entire cast was also fantastic. Phyllis Smith was perfect as the downer of the group, Sadness. Of course I cannot forget Mindy Kaling (Disgust), Bill Hader (Fear), Lewis Black (Anger), or Richard Kind (Bing Bong) who were all so wonderful.
"Inside Out" was the return to form everyone has been waiting for. Pixar has always been known for greatness so when they have a story that jumps out even more so than usual, people tend to take notice. This is no doubt one of Pixar's very best features and it will go down as an instant classic. With a wonderful message about feeling our emotions instead of numbing them, "Inside Out" goes beyond expectations to create an incredibly mature movie going experience for everyone. Yes, the movie deals with these five emotions, but upon leaving the main ones movie goers will feel will be joy and a little bit of sadness.