Pixar are back with a mind mashing animated hit in their latest movie release, Inside Out, but don’t let the inner thoughts comedy of the trailer fool you into thinking that there’s not going to be an adventure in the mix too. It’s got a lot of surprises up its sleeve, which it managed to hide away from the trailer, saving it all for the movie except a few funny jokes featuring the interplay of emotions within the little family at the heart of the story, so expect to be wowed by a much broader plot development.
Having hit UK cinemas a little later than in the States (24th July 2015 vs. 19th June), we’ve had to wait a little longer than usual to get to see the film, but now that it has arrived we can safely say that it has turned out to be better than expected. While we knew that it was going to be cute, funny and emotionally attuned, what we hadn’t counted on was the possibility of a massive inner mind journey of discovery, action and adventure and it’s this extra element that nudges it up with other recent Pixar classics like Up and WALL-E.
The story is left-field and genius, giving us two stories in one to follow with the first focusing on the life of Riley and her difficult move to San Francisco when her parents relocate, and the second the inner working of the emotions inside her mind. As she leaves her friends and everything that she loves behind her in Minnesota, moving with her mum and dad to a new home in San Francisco everything just seems to go wrong for the 11-year-old girl and her emotions start to go haywire in an attempt keep her on an even keel.
It makes for a lot of great jokes as Joy tries to stop Sadness from bringing things down too much, but with Anger, Disgust and Fear to content with too she’s got a lot to contend with. With Riley facing the prospect of her first day at school, ice hockey try-outs with a brand new team and a big empty house to call home something had to give and it’s this emotional roller-coaster that makes Inside Out such a heartfelt and enjoyable film to watch.
The voice cast are pitch perfect in everything that they do with Amy Poehler (Free Birds) taking the lead as Joy very well. However, it’s the interplay between all of the emotions that makes the film come alive as comedian Lewis Black brings a lot of flare to the role of Anger, Bill Hader (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2) makes for a surprisingly skittish Fear, Mindy Kaling (Wreck-It Ralph) taps into her pre-teen style as Disgust and Phyllis Smith (Bad Teacher) steals the show a little, in her own deadpan way, as Sadness. Newcomer, Kaitlyn Dias puts in good performance as Riley and Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan are pretty solid and dependable as her parents.
One of our favourite characters is the manifestation of Riley’s invisible friend Bing Bong, who’s played brilliantly by Richard Kind. He makes for a touching and endearingly mad-cap addition to the story.
Visually the movie is as impressive as you’d hope from Pixar and Disney with a lot of colour and inventive styles coming together to light up the screen. However, it’s the details that really get you as you look closely at the cool texture that they’ve added to Joy’s skin or the glowing playback that’s captured in each one of Riley’s memory orbs.
The wild adventures of Joy and Sadness inside Riley’s mind makes for a lot more action than we’d suspected, which results in the film being much more visually impactful than you might have first thought from the look of the trailer. This makes it a good option to see in 3D as there’s a lot of dynamic movement popping in and out of the screen to deliver some incredible animation.
Inside Out is a modern day classic from day one. It’s packed with funny moments, great characters, a heart warming storyline, mental adventures and gorgeous CGI. If you’re a kid or just a big kid at hear then it won’t disappoint.
Inside Out review: 4/5
