Inside Out
I had the opportunity to see the new Pixar film, Inside Out. Although Pixar really has become the industry standard when it comes to animated movies, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing it. Nothing about the trailers grabbed me. It look like to me as if Pixar was running out of ideas.
Even as the movie began, I was still not impressed. The five different emotions were doing their thing and there were a few cheap laughs. For about ten minutes into the film, I thought this should have just been one of their shorts as there was not much else that could be done.
Then they got me. As the major crisis was introduced, the movie turned around for me. The adventures of Joy and Fear as they tried to make it back to headquarters were very interesting and thought provoking. I was hooked.
As I watched it, I realized that this was a movie for adults. Yes it was visually appealing and my children loved it. But the interplay of the different emotions was very thoughtful. It made me reflect on what the role of emotions such as fear really had upon my life experience. Even the humour as we received glimpses of what happens inside the minds of others was something that adults will appreciate more than children. I laughed pretty hard.
I have seen many movies that I thought were a waste of time and money. This was not one of them. Inside Out is beautifully animated, but more importantly it has a solid story that is worth interacting with. It may even lead to some good conversations between parents and children.
Inside Out is highly recommended.
I found it appealing as a template to discuss emotions with my kids. I also found it interesting the sense of where exactly does one’s consciousness lie? Is it a blending of all 5 emotions? Also found it interesting who dominates the central emotion (the kids with Joy, the mother with Sadness, the father with Anger) and how the other emotions interplay with that. Definitely some thoughts of how it all goes together.