Movie Review- Thoroughly Entertaining- Inside Out!

The main difference between humans and animals is the presence of brain or rather our ability to use it. And what governs our brain or headquarters are emotions. They play a very major role in how we feel, what we do, how we respond to situations/people etc.  Any significant experience in our daily lives, triggered by these emotions, usually gets registered in us as a long term memory. These could be related to something that’s happened around a place or a person. And whenever one gets into a similar zone, these memories resurface and with them the emotions too.

Which is precisely the reason why we gel with certain people or like certain kind of food/cuisine or places . And when it comes to a different kind, we just cannot stand them .They leave us with emotions like disgust, anger, sorrow and sometimes even fear . The other kind makes us feel wanted, happy. They bring in the everlasting emotion of joy into our lives thereby creating a strong mutual bond. This bond is what we identify or conclude as friendship, family, soulmate, life partner etc.

Well hold on guys, this is definitely not a psychiatry class, neither am I blogging about the human mind and its complex emotions. This is just the crux of the animation movie Inside out. What is amazing is the simplicity in which this complex subject, which even adults fail to comprehend easily ,has been laid out bare to children.

Inside Out is the wonderful story of Riley and her experiences in life. Right from the moment when she is born, to the different experiences that she has as a part of her growing up in life, we are introduced to the five basic and wonderful emotions that rule her mind. Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust manifest one by one in her brain post birth. They play inside her head,influence her to make decisions, which eventually reflect in her actions in the outside world. These actions create memories, some of which are core memories (lifetime experiences), that get stored in her brain.

The entire job of these emotions is to make her arrive at decisions meant to protect her, make her feel better etc  which is basically how a human brain functions. How these emotions eventually play out in Riley's life when she moves out of her cocoon forms the engaging climax of the movie.

The discerning power of the human brain is what makes us take decisions and the outcome of these decisions goes on to influence our lives later on. But what is outstanding is the treatment of this subject by the director Pete Doctor. Not once will you feel that the topic is too heavy or boring.

The simple narrative and the pace at which the plot unfolds, thereby explaining the complexities of our emotions, yet keeping it engaging is a mind boggling achievement by the director.

The script has been executed in a way that even kids will find easy to comprehend or relate to. The animation is engaging and keeps you nicely hooked to the narrative. The beautiful message,that every emotion has an important role to play in our lives and no emotion is never completely negative or positive, is brought out nicely through the movie. The fact that Joy and Sorrow co-exist in our lives and help us overcome our struggles is also cleverly depicted in the movie. 

Overall  Inside Out is a beautiful watch . Very seldom have such topics been explored and that too through animation. So hat’s off to the entire team at Disney and Pixar for the outstanding effort . 

And yes this movie tingles every emotion in your brain and has you throughly entertained-Inside Out…throughout!