Entertaining, But Not As "On Point" As Other Pixar Efforts

Rating: 6/10 (27 February 2017)

Toy Story...Wall-E...Up...Finding Nemo...etc. When a company (Pixar) makes films of that caliber, it is a difficult task to keep "upping the ante" with subsequent releases. While "Inside Out" is (at the very least) entertaining, it doesn't quite live up to the bar of greatness set by previous Pixar installments.
For a basic plot summary, "Inside Out" tells the story of an 11-year old girl named Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias), who is moving from Minnesota to San Francisco. This is obviously a big change in Riley's life, and it is when we are introduced to the emotions inside her head: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), & Disgust (Mindy Kaling). All of Riley's outward emotions are controlled by these core emotions in the "command center" of her brain. As Riley struggles to acclimate to her new home, school, and environment, these emotions struggle to figure out their place in the overall scheme of her personality.
The concept behind "Inside Out" is original and entertaining. It's fun/interesting to see our emotions represented like that, and it provides for both some very happy/uplifting, as well as very sad/depressing, moments throughout. In terms of original concept and interesting ideas, "Inside Out" may actually be one of Pixar's best.
However, I found the execution of those ideas to be only so-so. I had two complaints (this is coming from an adult perspective, of course) while watching the movie...
1. When the camera "pulls back" to see Riley interacting with her parents and environment, that is when this film works the best. However, a majority of the film is spent inside Riley's brain dealing with the emotions themselves. For example, a subplot involving Joy being separated from the command center takes up quite a bit of time. I just wish things could have been a bit more balanced.
2. More so than any other Pixar film, "Inside Out" seems to really "go for the cry", so to speak. I've never been in a theater where so many sniffles and even outright sobbing could be heard. I have no problem with that at face value, as great films are supposed to grab at the emotions, but this one just felt expressly made to do so. I shed some tears at the end of "Toy Story 3" and at the beginning of "Up", but I really feel that was because those montages were so well-made and natural to the plot of those films. With "Inside Out", at times I felt like the entire point of the experience was to have parents bawling.
That being said, even though this one didn't rank as high as other Pixar efforts in my book, it was still fun to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed the unique concept and really liked the parts where the emotions in Riley's (and her parents') brain directly influence conversations and interactions in the real world. Highly recommended for all audiences and (as usual) perfect for families. But be warned: if you are a parent, you might want to keep a few tissues handy.