I knew from the instant I saw the trailer that this movie was either going to be excellent or terrible.
When I got to the theater to see it, I had to wait almost an hour for a showing that wasn’t sold out since it was a rainy Friday afternoon on opening day. Luckily, it was well, well worth it.
Currently holding a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and climbing to the top of the box office as of writing this, Inside Out is proof that Pixar’s original movies are unbeatable in animation, story and just about everything else.
This whimsical story follows the emotions Fear, Joy, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust in the head of 11-year-old Riley during a life changing move to San Fransisco with her family. When her personality begins to drastically change as a result, it’s up to the emotions to work together and bring everything back to a perfect balance.
This movie is absolutely flawless. The human designs are amazing to look at, a long way even from Up, the studio’s last original film. The designs of the emotions are adorable and perfect. Each of the sections of Riley’s head, including imagination, dreams, long term memory and more are all colorful and delightful to look at.
The way the movie explains how the mind works is simple enough for children, yet made so much sense to me as an adult. I think this movie caters even more to adults than children, with the stunning originality and hilarious voice acting, especially by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black as Joy, Sadness and Anger respectively.
There’s plenty of little adult humor winks at the audience and even more tear-jerking moments that take audiences back to childhood. I definitely cried during this one.
There’s also peeks into the minds of the father, mother and other minor characters which are hilarious standout moments. This movie was nothing short of incredible, and everyone should take some time to step inside the movie theater for Inside Out.
I’m giving it an A++++. Let’s hope Pixar sticks to their originality for awhile to come.