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'Inside Out': A charming, ingenious tale of Joy and Sadness
Pixar has made magic by making audiences love one-eyed green creatures and blue furry monsters in Monster, Inc
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Pixar has made magic by making audiences love one-eyed green creatures and blue furry monsters in Monster, Inc. and feeling the emotions of a toy cowboy in Toy Story.
The sterling animation studio's latest animated feature Inside Out takes us to the most unimaginable territory: a world inside a girl's head.
Growing up, as we all know, can be a bumpy road. It is no different with Riley (voice over by Kaitlyn Dias), a 11-year-old hockey-loving girl, who moves from Minnesota to San Francisco for her father's job.
She leaves her friends, her spacious home and a frozen lake, where she and her parents skate every winter only to find that she must now live in an small, uninviting house with no bed.
The main story takes place inside the mind of Riley, where five emotions take control of Riley's every move and thought at the Headquarters.
Taking the lead of the pack is lighthearted optimist Joy (Amy Poehler), who controls the buttons and switches on the air-traffic-control-like room to keep Riley happy no matter what.
Fear (Bill Hader) heads up safety, Anger (Lewis Black) ensures all is fair and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) keeps Riley away from poisonous food or all the things perceived uncool in her surroundings. Sadness (Phyllis Smith) does not know what her exact role is.
But as Riley faces more challenges in adapting to the new life, Joy grapples to prevent Sadness from making the girl feel blue.
An accident throws Joy and Sadness out of Headquarters and they must venture to unknown territories of mind in a hope to get back to Headquarters.
Directed by Oscar-winning Peter Hans 'Pete' Docter (Monster, Inc., Up), Inside Out unveils how the mind works in a delightful, imaginative fashion.
Coming from a simple question, 'What's going on inside my daughter's head?', Docter, along with Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley, envisions the adventurous, colorful world inside Riley's mind that feels incredible. Well, at least for one and half hours.
Where do dreams come from? Those are filmed in a Hollywood-like studio called Dream Productions, where Rainbow Pegasus is the hottest star.
A section in Imagination Land produces Riley's imaginary boyfriend, who wholeheartedly exclaims, 'I would die for Riley!' while flapping his hair.
The memories take the form of glowing balls, which fade away as Riley forgets them.
This imaginary universe, which Pixar created through consultations with psychologists and scientists, will likely captivate most audiences. Little children may not grasp all the concepts, but will at least enjoy the bright colors and cute figures such as Riley's imaginary friend Bing Bong, a huggable hybrid of cotton candy and elephant, who weeps candies.
It is also interesting how we can get glimpses of Riley's father's five key emotions ' such as when they opt to watch a replay of last night's soccer match rather than listen to his wife. And also the all-female emotions of Riley's mother that resemble a group of soap-opera fans, who meticulously analyze and criticize her husband's every move.
Many moments in the film deliver good laughs, but the strongest aspect is placed on the poignant moments between Joy and Sadness during their arduous journey back to Headquarters and how the relationship of Riley and her father evolves.
Inside Out comes laden with an unconventional message for a children's film: Sometimes, sadness is needed. So, do not expect that something good magically happens and solves all the problems. It, instead, give a kind of realistic ending, which is still lovely and moving.
As the recording of the voices is done before the animation, the voice cast play a pivotal role in shaping the characters. With that in mind, Poehler terrifically balances Joy's excitement and happiness without being too saccharine.
The animation of Riley's mind universe is mostly a feast of bright hues, in particular Joy, whose body's yellow glows radiate to everything near her.
The only criticism that emerges is on the portrayal of Sadness, where some parents and education practitioners accuses that it promotes a false perception that fat people are sad.
During his recent visit in Jakarta, Docter explained the inspiration behind Sadness.
'Sadness is really modeled on the teardrop. So, we tried to find this iconic shape, very simple shape that felt correct to us,' he told The Jakarta Post and several other journalists.
'Her head is bigger than her body. So to me she doesn't look fat.'
His team contrasted each emotion's character so that they look appealing as a team. Joy represents a star, Disgust is a piece of broccoli, Anger is a brick, Fear is an angular nerve.
Inside Out, which becomes Docter's follow-up after Oscar-winning Up, has received tremendous commercial and critical triumphs since being released on June 19.
On its opening weekend, it reaped a staggering US$90.44 million, placing it as the fifth best opening for an animated feature, lagging behind Shrek the Third, Minions, Toy Story 3 and Shrek 2.
With this scale of success, it is very likely for Inside Out to have a sequel. Pixar may have prepared for it by showing the unlit warning button labeled 'Puberty' at the end of the film. This period definitely promise more emotional rollercoaster rides than the dawning adolescent has.
With an exquisitely designed universe and a heartfelt story, Inside Out will charm its way into the hearts of many audiences. Through its previous features, Pixar has proved itself as a masterful storyteller, stirring our emotions and making us sympathize with monsters, abandoned toys or a mouse chef. Inside Out marks Pixar's storytelling milestone of breaking away from standard premises of children-friendly flicks and saying out loud the truth that sometimes we need to embrace sadness.
