Inside Out Plot Summary: When 11-yea- old Riley moves with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco, her emotions must figure out how to keep her happy through the change.
In the year 2014, there was not a Pixar film to be seen. The annual release of a movie from the aforementioned company created a gap that ultimately was needed. You could sense Pixar needed a break; after creating amazingly wonderful animated films, some of which that were sure to leave you in tears, then came a few “rough around the edges” movies that failed to meet the true Pixar standard that was held for so long.
Enter Inside Out. This story about a group of emotions working inside a young girl’s head seemed like a bizarre idea on the surface. However, if someone knows how to take a crazy idea and make it work, it’s Pixar.
And work it does. This movie works SO well, it’s almost unbelievable. Director Pete Docter gave us Pixar entries Up and Monster’s Inc.; the guy knows a thing or two about the craft of making amazing animated films. Here he runs on all cylinders, creating a movie that is so clever and witty, it’s borderline genius. For example, you know those memories that you forget about? Yeah, here it’s covered, but in a hilarious way. What about those little songs or jingles you get stuck in your head and can’t get out? Yup, Inside Out includes that too.
There are so many nods to the mainframe of memory that work so well within in the context it’s a wonder to think about. Also, the bizarre portions of Riley’s head-imagination, abstract thought, and the subconscious-are just a sight to behold in the film. This movie is 100% unreal in all the bases it covers, still with a surrounding story to be involved with.
That story, basically, is that Joy (Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) have been accidentally sent out of headquarters into the outer regions of Riley’s mind. They must return to their workstation before something disastrous happens.
Just to mention, they meet Riley’s imaginary friend along the way. He’s one of Pixar’s most bizarre and wacky creations. Therefore, he immediately ranked as one of my favorite animated characters of all time.
He is also featured in one of the best animated films of all time. To put it sincerely, Inside Out is a marvel. It is equal parts creative, humorous, dramatic, tense, and downright heartbreaking. Yes, that last adjective is true; the Pixar formula comes back to haunt us ways it has before. Ultimately, this movie will undoubtedly make you cry. You can’t have a movie about emotions and not feel emotional. It just doesn’t work like that.
I rarely ever give a movie a perfect score. There are flaws in almost every movie. However, the key word there is “almost.” Pixar has done it again, back from a well needed break. Inside Out is a masterpiece, an emotional roller coaster that stands back to back with the best from the company. I would be lying if I said this movie wasn’t beautiful. It truly is. Please go see it.
Rating: 10/10
Inside Out is currently in theaters
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Logan J. Fowler is a senior writer and video game editor on Po-Break.com. He contributes his thoughts every week for Trailer Tuesday and has his own column called “A Link to the Past.” Logan’s “kid at heart” nature has led to his discussion about pop culture that many geeks love to talk about, including superheroes, Super Mario Bros., Pixar, and Muppets, among other things. In addition, one of his first pieces for the site, “Top Ten Comic Book Movies,” was picked as a “Freshly Pressed” piece by WordPress and remains one of the site’s most well-read articles. Currently, Logan works as a Special Education Instructional Assistant at Roosevelt School in Manville NJ. He graduated from Wagner College in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and in 2007 with a Master of Science in Education Degree in Birth-6th Grade Literacy. He also holds a Teacher of Students with Disabilities Certification from Rutgers. Many of Logan’s friends have said that he moonlights as Spider-Man but this is so not true. Wait, are those police sirens I’m hearing?! Gotta go! -thwipp-
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