The filmmakers behind the brilliantly clever concept of Inside Out captivated us from the first musical cues. The darkened theater turned ‘Joy’ous as the beautiful and elegant song, ‘Bundle of Joy’ set the film’s overall tone. Inside Out plays as a sentimental letter to your childhood making you reminisce of simpler days singing songs with your imaginary pal, “Who’s your friend that likes to play?” Set in the mind of an 11-year old girl named Riley, the film showcases the emotional growth each of us goes through with the help of five main emotion characters – Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Anger (Lewis Black). Note, this review contains spoilers – read more and watch our video review below.
The vocal cast within the film provided the perfect amount of thoughtfulness for each character with our attention surrounding the endearing Richard Kind as Bing Bong – who is undoubtedly now a fan favorite Pixar character. Delighting the audience from the moment he appears onscreen, Bing Bong’s unique character design and childlike nature will steal your heart and leave you in tears.
Speaking of tears, during a recent interview, Pete Docter shared that while in a recording session for Bing Bong, Richard Kind began to cry when delivering his heart-wrenching final line “Take her to the moon for me, OK?”. It’s the actors’ commitment to their vocal work that speaks volumes about their talent – the Inside Out team pulled out all the stops when casting the extremely talented group and we think this cast is on par with the also-astounding, Toy Story vocal cast.
It is necessary to take risks in any film and the Inside Out team truly delivered with the incredible Abstract Thought corridor scene. After the hilarious gag of “D-A-N-G-E-R…shortcut”, the trio of Joy, Sadness, and Bing Bong begin to morph into new animated dimensions and we were mesmerized by the imagination, medium-mixing, and artistry led by character art director, Albert Lozano. The visuals created for the scene surprised us and left us wanting more.
Adding to the superb storyline, the mood-enhancing lighting from scene to scene creates an entirely new level of workmanship. Lighting is often an unnamed character within films creating an ambiance such as the mysterious glow in the subconscious mind – which completely thrilled us. Inside Out also pushed the boundaries and created new techniques in animation and simulation such as the tiny particles that make up each of the five emotions. As we have mentioned in several of the trailer reviews, we continue to be taken with the design of Joy as she gleefully bounces leaving a trail of tiny particles in the air. It may be a small detail but the impact was big.
As the credits roll, Inside Out will not only leave you dabbing tears off your checks, but more importantly thinking back fondly on your own childhood — or, if you’re a parent, wanting to keep your kids young for as long as possible. Thank you, Pixar for this truly beautiful look into our minds.
We have compiled a short video review of our own favorite Inside Out moments including fan and theatergoer reactions (similar to the video we made for Monsters University). Check it out below or directly on YouTube.
Julie’s Rating = 10/10
T.J.’s Rating = 9.3/10
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