Five stars. Rated G, and suitable for all ages
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 6.19.15
Sheer genius.
After stalling a bit in recent
years, Pixar has reclaimed its throne of brilliance, thanks to the impressively
imaginative Inside Out, one of the most entertaining and ingenious metaphors
ever brought to the big screen.
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| Joy, right, is horrified to discover that a mere touch from Sadness can transform a yellow sphere — representing a happy memory — into one of sorrow. What will this do to the long-term memories carefully stored within their host little girl's mind? |
Mind you, it’s not that Cars 2, Monsters University and Brave were bad films; far from it. But they were
disappointing nonetheless: the first two driven more by merchandising and less
by a heartfelt reason to continue their storylines, as was realized far better
by the Toy Story trilogy. More to the point, all three recent films lacked
the inspirational, outside-the-box snap, crackle and pop that has characterized
so many of Pixar’s efforts.
It’s their own fault, really: Set
the bar high, and fans arrive with expectations.
All of which are met, and then
some, by the wonderful Inside Out. By turns exhilarating, wildly euphoric and
poignant, this modern-day fairy tale offers perceptive insight into how (and
why) we deal with love, happiness, family ties, crushing disappointments and
all sorts of routine daily successes and failures, along with a rather droll
suggestion of what might be happening when our lives feel “out of balance.”
Director Pete Docter (Monsters,
Inc. and Up) concocted a strikingly savvy premise, then shaped it into a
thoroughly engaging script with co-writers Josh Cooley and Meg LeFauve. In a
way, it’s the Monsters, Inc. concept writ much larger: Instead of merely
establishing a reason for nightmares, Docter & Co. have built an entire
fantastical explanation for all human behavior.
In short, we’re governed by an
uneasy alliance between five key emotions — Joy, Fear, Anger, Sadness and
Disgust — which take turns operating
a complex control center within our minds. Too much of any one emotion
results in instability, manifested in the outer “real” world by bewildering (to
others) behavior.
But it’s much, much deeper than
that, as gradually revealed in the charming saga of Riley, whom we first meet as a gurgling infant born to her
delighted mother (voiced by Diane Lane) and father (Kyle MacLachlan). As she’s
delivered into the world, Riley’s mind receives its first emotion: Joy (Amy
Poehler), awestruck by what she sees “through” her infant host’s eyes.
Joy is further surprised by the
creation and immediate storage of the baby’s first memory, wrapped in a
protective, bowling ball-sized soft yellow sphere: the color of Joy herself.
But infant frustration quickly
follows, cueing the arrival of Anger (Lewis Black); he’s soon joined by Fear
(Bill Hader), Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). Over time, as
Riley (now voiced by Kaitlyn Dias) grows into a rambunctious adolescent —
encouraged to do so by her doting parents — her myriad memory spheres are
predominantly yellow ... because what is childhood, if not a period of great
joy?
But matters are destined to get
more complicated.
