Thu, 28 Mar, 2024

Movie Review: Inside Out

By Ashmita Thapa

Photo Courtesy: Ashmita Thapa

Pixar’s latest addition to its star-studded franchise, Inside Out, is a creative, clever, heartfelt, and beautifully animated movie which is bound to be an instant classic. It indeed takes its place in Pixar’s hall of fame. In a generation where animated movies are being released more frequently than ever before, Inside Out effectively blows all of its competition out of the park.

I’ve been watching Disney and Pixar movies since I was a small child and I’ve probably watched all their classics countless times already. However, very few of them left an impression on me like Inside Out did. Told primarily from the perspective of the feelings inside 11-year-old Riley's mind, Inside Out takes us on an incredibly original and emotional journey about growing up and learning to handle your biggest emotions. Against her will, Riley had to move from her home in Minnesota to San Francisco because of her father’s work. In her new life, she has all sorts of happy, exciting, as well as traumatic experiences and her moods are regulated by a team of five imps who operate in a control room behind her eyes – Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness. These five emotions are inside Riley’s head trying to keep her in balance. It’s safe to say that the “Inside” is far more significant than the “Out” in this movie.

Packed with a mixture of comedy, inspiring quotes and heart-wrenching moments (tissues highly recommended), Inside Out has important messages about requiring to feel and express all of your emotions, whether happy or sad. Even though it was targeted for a young audience, in my personal opinion, the thing that makes it stand out so much is that it speaks to a much older audience as well. Kids and their parents, psychologists as well as philosophers, are likely to be equally intrigued by this movie which manages to be sophisticated without losing that “Innocent” image that every Pixar movie carries.