Meaningful But Underexplored, it Feels Like Pixar Left a Few Things Unsaid Here

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2015)

Kudos to Pixar for this one, because they really took a swing with an ambitious, risky, leftfield concept that I honestly didn't think could work when I first laid eyes on the teaser trailer. It does work, and it's often quite clever in touching a broad range of delicate subjects in a way that can be appreciated by audiences young and old alike; no small balancing act. It's uproarious and cute and heady, but I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that we were just barely scratching the surface here, even as things began wrapping up. There's plenty brewing under the table, but it still feels superficial, and the big developments in the third act don't totally feel like they've been earned when the credits begin to roll. Granted, it's got a bushel of heavy messages to share, much more than many of its peers in the CG animation field, but when it's a delivery from the studio that brought us Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and Wall-E, there's a certain unspoken standard to meet. Inside Out represents a rebound for Pixar, certainly the best (and most creative) of their recent efforts, but it's not as sweeping, engulfing, or rewarding as the classic pedestals of their back catalog.