It isn’t very often that complex cognitive functions are brought to an animated film intended for children. Brought to us by the same filmmakers as Disney Pixar classics Toy Story and UP, Inside Out which premieres in theaters nationwide on Friday June 19th, 2015 attempts to take audiences on a voyage into the mind of an 11 year old girl named Riley.
Well known for their complex emotional multi-dimensional characters, film maker duo Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera have once again teamed up to create a film that is an evocative tour of human emotion and the importance of meaningful relationships. Pete Docter was inspired to create Inside Out after he witnessed his own daughter Ellie go through a withdrawn, emotional turmoil fueled adolescence as he tried to figure out what was going on in her mind. Unlike UP, which the film maker duo created as a love letter to their grandparents, Inside Out has been created as a love letter to their children. During an interview at the Pixar Animation Studios earlier this year, Pete Docter claimed that after his daughter whom inspired Inside Out saw the film in entirety she didn’t have much to say other than “it’s a cool movie dad” (that’s a teenager for ya!).
Inside Out Synopsis
Riley is a happy child with a stable, traditional family until Riley’s father’s job relocates them to the city of San Francisco. The film’s main characters surprisingly are in fact not Riley and her parents, but rather the emotions that live in Riley’s mind and run the “head” quarters of Riley’s emotions and cognitive functions. There are five emotions in total: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust played by Amy Poehler (voice of “Joy”), Bill Hader (voice of “Fear”), Mindy Kaling (voice of “Disgust”), Phyllis Smith (voice of “Sadness”) and Lewis Black (voice of “Anger”). Casting of these actors in particular enabled Inside Out to be a hilarious adventure with depth in the abstract world of the mind.
In an effort to help young Riley through the trauma of moving the emotions are on edge, but during a scuffle of control emotions Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind and accidentally take some of her core memories with them. Fear, Anger and Disgust are left reluctantly in charge of Riley’s emotions. Joy and Sadness must travel through unfamiliar places Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, Abstract Thought and Dream Productions in a desperate effort to get back to Headquarters, and Riley.
Anger, Fear, Joy, Sadness and Disgust looking at Riley’s personality Islands through the Headquarters windows
Discover Your Core Memories
At the very center of “head”quarters, right in the center of the room holds several of Riley’s orbital, glass core memories. These memories best represent who Riley is and each of these memories have built their own island. These islands make up Riley’s personality, such as goof-ball island, family island, hockey island and friendship island. During the Inside Out Press Conference, Mindy Kaling revealed to a packed room of media that she realized that after making this film that one of her own core memories involves her beloved mom whom she desperately wanted alone time with away from her little brother and her sitting on their kitchen counter. With Mindy on her mom’s lap, her mom introduced her to a jelly doughnut. Mindy joked during the press conference that to her, that very moment encapsulated all that she loved – one on one attention with her mom and sweet, jelly filled pastries. This got me thinking about my own core memories and what they could possibly be. What are your core memories that make up your personality? It’s a fascinating look into our souls isn’t it? Examining our core memories – and those singular moments of time that have shaped our personalities into who we are today is a bonafide gem of information (OK maybe that’s just the psychology degree I have talking?!).
Joy and Sadness and a core memory orb
Inside Out is a animated adventure into the abstract realm of the mind, but it’s completely and totally relatable to children. In fact, I believe according to our Inside Out movie review that this film will create many open conversations about our emotions, our feelings and our actions with our children. Inside Out isn’t a movie you should see, it’s a movie you must see.
