Inside Out
/"Take her to the moon for me. Okay?"
Filmology Rating: 3.5 out of 4
I suffer from clinical depression, I have for many years now. It’s something I have dealt with, while some days are better than others, and I never look for sympathy from anyone for it. It is a part of who I am and while it might be a darker side that I don’t like to talk about, it’s still a part of who I am. I usually have a film that helps my depression subside for a slight bit and that film for the past three years has been Silver Linings Playbook but now I think I will have a new film to rotate with that film: Inside Out.
Riley has a lot going on for an eleven year old in Minnesota; she is on a fantastic hockey team, has great friends; but her father gets a job in San Francisco causing the family to move out to the west coast. This sends Riley into overdrive or, more aptly, her emotions into overdrive. Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, starts to have a crisis when Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith, starts messing around with Riley’s memories, making some of the once happy ones sad. Joy accidentally gets sent on a journey through Riley’s mind to recover the memories to make them happy so Riley will go on living a happy innocent life.
Normally I can look at a film in a very objective manner, judging the film for film that it is, but this film spoke to me on an emotional level that I cannot shake. The simplistic way that Pixar tells this story is fascinating and reminds me that Pixar can be the outstanding company that it once was. Inside Out is directed by Pete Docter, who also co-directed Up and Monsters, Inc, and Ronnie Del Carmen, making his directorial debut, and written by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, making her screenwriting debut after producing only two films, and Josh Cooley, also making his screenwriting debut after working in the art department at Pixar since The Incredibles. What is so incredible about the talent that was just stated is that most of them are making a debut of some nature with this film, the amount of fresh and unproven talent is something that should be admired especially when they create a masterpiece like this film. As someone who has taken many screenwriting classes I don’t believe I could ever dive that deep into myself to discover what makes us human as a first time writer. That idea almost makes my mind implode on how the creative team for this film got everything so right.
The talent that Pixar seems to get for every film is perfection, even for films that I’m lukewarm on, such as Cars and Brave. Putting talent before the name, I wish every company would follow that simple formula because every film we would get would have an aspect worth talking about. Amy Poehler, the voice of Joy, is perfection and now whenever I think of the happiest person on Earth I will always think of her, and this basically goes for the rest of the cast as well; Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Bill Hader as Fear, Lewis Black as Anger, and Mindy Kaling as Disgust. All are the voices that will now pop up in my head every time I feel this emotions. The biggest surprise of the film is Richard Kind as the imaginary friend Bing Bong. I never thought I would care about a cotton candy cat/elephant creature but I was moved by the journey that he takes.
The score for the film by Michael Giacchino is one of the best scores I have heard for any film this year. It perfectly captures the innocence that we all want in the world with a simple melody. It sends me back to my childhood, remembering friends I have lost and the innocence that I have lost with my life and how I wish I could go back to those times. Giacchino has also written memorable scores for films like Super 8, Up, and Star Trek, but his score for Inside Out will go down as his best work so far
I would love to go in depth on this film and the use of color especially during the third act but I do urge everyone to rush out and see this film. Do not look up spoilers, just go in with an open mind and walk about with tears running down your face.
Rating: See It
-Jonny G