Inside Out Movie Review

I attended a media sneak peek of Inside Out. All opinions expressed below belong to me.

Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head?

Disney•Pixar’s latest movie, Inside Out, explores that question with the help of some adorable characters – Joy {Amy Poehler}, Fear {Bill Hader}, Anger {Lewis Black}, Disgust {Mindy Kaling} and Sadness {Phyllis Smith}.

When lead character 11-year-old Riley is uprooted from Minnesota to San Francisco, her emotions are running high. These ’emotions’ live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life, trouble ensues. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate the new city, house and school.

TAKEAWAYS

The core lesson in this movie, from a kid’s perspective: It’s OK to feel more than one emotion.

The core lesson from an adult’s perspective: Joy cannot exist without sadness, and our emotions make us who we are.

Simply put, this movie goes deep. From short-term and long-term memory to Imagination Land, Abstract Thinking, and even a “Dream Productions Studio,” the concepts in the movie are beyond what a young kid can comprehend, but offer wonderful visuals of the inner workings of our brain. I could see the science highlighted throughout, and really appreciated it.

To be honest, I am still not sure how to interpret it. I just had almost too many feels. I laughed, I cried {some fat tears under my 3D glasses, embarrassingly}; I hugged my girls to ensure they knew I love them. The director is who created Up, so if you have seen that, you can gather how emotional this movie really is…But maybe that is the point?!? I mean, it *is* about emotions.

AGE RECOMMENDATION

There is absolutely something for every age is this film. I brought both of my girls {just about 3 and 4.5} and both stayed easily entertained throughout thanks to the bright, imaginative graphics and silly one-liners.

With that said, the younger crowd won’t really get the bigger picture, but that’s OK. After all, many of us parents take our kids to movies like this so they stay occupied for a few hours, and we secretly hope we’ll get some laughs in too, right? This will definitely do the trick!

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

I’m not jumping up and down to share this review and make you go. I enjoyed it, but it’s not one I would watch over and over like Monsters, Inc. or Finding Nemo per-say. It’s just a tad heavier than I like my kid movies to be.

With that said, my 4-year-old immediately asked if we can go out and buy it, so if that is any indication, it is sure to be a hit among various age groups, including the younger set. The characters {and their voices} are adorable and make the film. My girls especially loved Anger, who had hair that set on fire when he was mad.

Overall, it’s Pixar, so it’s a stunner in many respects. The scenes exude pure imagination and brilliance that is sure to get audiences talking, so I *do* think it’s worth seeing in theaters, but I would not recommend splurging on 3D — there just wasn’t enough to make it worth it.

As a Disney music lover, I was hoping for some good tunes throughout and felt disappointed. However, the short before the movie — Lava — was AMAZING. Go just to see that just for the song, which is sure to get stuck in your head for days.

Inside Out opens in theaters everywhere today and is rated PG.

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Will you be going to see this movie?