In the new Disney Pixar animated film "Inside Out" director/co-screenwriter Pete Docter gives you the chance to "meet the little voices inside your head" since we, like ll-year-old Riley Anderson in the story, are motivated and driven by our emotions throughout our lives.
In the new Disney Pixar animated film "Inside Out" director/co-screenwriter Pete Docter gives you the chance to "meet the little voices inside your head" since we, like ll-year-old Riley Anderson in the story, are motivated and driven by our emotions throughout our lives.
Baby Riley is a very happy camper as the story begins. Joy, a bouncy, luminous little figure clad in green (voiced by Amy Poehler), dwells deep inside Riley's brain in an area known as Headquarters and cheerful Joy predominantly motivates Riley's world. Eventually Joy is joined by four other emotional figures—Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust.
In the beginning Riley's unbridled enthusiasm for life, thanks to Joy, also gives her parents (Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan) great happiness as well, but things change when the family is uprooted from Minnesota and moves to San Francisco. At first Riley tries to cope, but soon the other emotions in her head kick in. Now her inner joy is tinged by sadness, embodied by a little blue figure in a turtle neck sweater who wears big round glasses (voiced by Phyllis Smith, TV's "The Office").
The other inner emotions like Fear (Bill Hader of "Saturday Night Live") begin to take a more active part in Riley's psyche. Fear scares Riley more often to keep her safe in her new surroundings while Anger, a short tempered little red guy (comic Lewis Black) blows his fuse whenever things are unfair and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) tries to steer the young girl in the right direction now that she's adrift, far from her old home and friends.
And somewhere deep inside Riley's sub-conscious mind Bing Bong (Richard Kind) her Imaginary Friend still remains. To put all of these emotional characters in proper perspective the filmmakers consulted with scientists in the field who noted that at times humans must deal with as many as 27 emotions.
For clarity the emotional characters in Riley's head have been limited to just Joy, Sorrow, Fear, Anger and Disgust.
What makes the film so interesting is the way the animators take us inside the human mind, using five brightly colored little beings to represent basic human emotions. And while they sometimes seem to be acting at crosspurposes, they actually try to keep their human functioning on many levels ranging from family connections and friendships to hobbies and social interaction.
It may sound complicated, and it is, in a highly ingenious kind of a way, as five vibrant emotions take Riley on a journey through mood swings and eventual self-realization.
"Inside Out," like "Toy Story," "WALL-E," "Monsters Inc" and "Up," which earned Docter an animated feature Oscar for his direction, is a film made for adults that children will also enjoy. In fact "Inside Out," rated PG for mild thematic elements and action, may be too complicated for very young children to comprehend.
However the night we saw the film at the El Capitan, I noticed two very young children laughing as they left the movie. I asked their mom if they had liked the movie and she replied, "They loved it. They didn't really fully understand it, but they loved the bright, bouncy little figures who made them laugh." Another mom said her son didn't get the full meaning of the story like an adult would, but he identified with the characters representing emotions and he particularly liked Anger.
"Inside Out" is a fine, insightful film for parents to experience with their kids since there are so many thought-provoking concepts in the stony line that could lead to meaningful discussions about pent up emotions. Psychology majors will also benefit from this truly insightful romp through the human mind. When Oscar time rolls around, it is almost a joyful certainty that "Inside Out" will be nominated for an animated Oscar—and I am also quite sure it will take home the gold because it works on so many entertaining levels.
"Inside Out" at the El Capitan Theatre is presented in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The 4k-laser projection adds brightness, contrast and brilliant color you can feel along with a sound system that moves audio around the theatre, even overhead.
Before the movie you will experience "Music of Light," an amazing 3-D stage show choreographed by Dave Scott, resident choreographer on "So You Think You Can Dance."
The 3-D stage show, like the movie, is mind blowing and fun. There is also an animated short "Lava," an explosive musical love story about two volcanoes. For tickets and information call 1-800-DISNEY6 or online at www.elcapitantickets.com.
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For fans of fun, family entertainment, be sure to watch "The Descendants," which will air on the Disney Channel on Friday July 31 at 8 p.m. The entertaining family film, produced and directed by Emmy Award winning director Kenny Ortega, is a live action movie that takes a knowing wink at traditional fairy tales and fuses them together in a contemporary, music driven story about the challenges teenagers face when trying to live up to parental and personal expectations.
Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart and Sofia Carson star as the teen-aged sons and daughters of Disney's infamous villains like Maleficent (played and sung with gusto by Kristen Cheneweth), the evil Queen from Snow White, Cruella Deville and Jofar from Aladdin. It's great fun for the kids, and parents will find it entertaining as well. I saw it on the Disney lot with my neighbor Ginger and her two pre-teen kids, Zane 11 and Gracie 9. Zane particularly enjoyed the fact that "the movie took old-fashioned fairy tales and made them modern for kids today."
