Emotions Run High for Inside Out

Just when you finally figure out how to be a parent and have a good relationship established with your child, emotions run high and everything changes. Welcome to the Inside Out movie where finally we can see inside the mind of a tween.

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When Inside Out was first announced and the characters first introduced I honestly had no desire to see the movie. The explanations seemed totally beyond anything Disney has ever created before.

When we attended Disney Social Media Moms the director spoke to the social media influencers and revealed more about the creation of the movie. When he showed the first few minutes of the film I laughed so hard I knew this was a movie our family had to see. The next day all of the attendess of Disney Social Media Moms were treated to an advanced screening of a work in progress version of the movie. Although we only saw two-thirds of the movie, Pixar’s love and attention to detail was obvious.

Thankfully we were invited to the media screening to finally see the entire movie and absolutely loved it.

Although the movie is animated and targeted for children, adults will perhaps be the bigger audience because as a parent we all need an insight into the mind of tweens and teens. Inside Out uses humor as a way to touchingly tell the story through the eyes of Riley, an 11 year old girl.

Riley is born to loving parents and her family is at the center of everything she does but a move to San Francisco, far away from anything she knows and loves, is difficult on her.

Meet the little voices inside your head.

Five voices inside your head are the featured characters and emotions of the movie.

Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, is the first emotion we meet and she is just like her name. Joy is sweet, bubbly, perky, and endearing and Amy nails the performance beautifully.

Sadness is quite possibly the favorite emotion out of all of them. This was a most difficult character to portray without being whiny and Phyllis Smith expertly portrays an emotion that everyone can relate to and even bring us to tears with her vocal talents.

Anger is the funniest character out of all the emotions and perhaps the one that had the most fun in the movie. Lewis Black provides many of the humorous moments and many that most can relate to for children.

Fun Fact: On the journey we meet Bing Bong. If you go to the Disney Store and find him, he actually smells like cotton candy.

Disgust, voiced by Mindy Kaling, is the emotion that keeps Riley safe by making sure she does not eat anything that even remotely resembles vegetables or any other freaky looking food. Don’t even talk to her about broccoli.

Fear, voiced by Bill Hader, totally freaks out even when not necessary.

Just when you thought you had seen all the emotions, Pixar throws in a surprise that will leave every parent nodding their head and silently realizing they are up on the screen.

Inside Out takes you on a journey as the voices inside Riley’s head help teach us what memories are important. Core memories is a term that now become common words used around families as we strive to make the lasting memories important.

Although Disney may not have planned it, by focusing on these five emotions and portraying them so distinctly children who are just learning to label their feelings will have an easier time identifying with these emotions. A brilliant move on Disney’s part to help children who are struggling to figure out their feelings in ways that a picture chart, book, or descriptions cannot.

Just like every Disney Pixar movie does, John Ratzenberger has a role and plays the voice of Fritz.

Parental Advisory: (Spoiler alert)

Just like any Pixar movie, it is written for children and they make sure it is acceptable for all ages to watch. There are a few moments of mild suspense walking over lava and action scenes that are exciting for children.

Riley does run away in the movie and that can be scary for a child to witness. The most difficult part in the movie is the death of one of the characters. This is what we suspect gives it more of a PG rating.

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[quote]Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head? Disney•Pixar’s original new film “Inside Out” ventures inside the mind to find out. Based in Headquarters, the control center inside 11-year-old Riley’s mind, five Emotions are hard at work, led by lighthearted optimist Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), whose mission is to make sure Riley stays happy. Fear (voice of Bill Hader) heads up safety, Anger (voice of Lewis Black) ensures all is fair and Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling) prevents Riley from getting poisoned—both physically and socially. Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith) isn’t exactly sure what her role is, and frankly, neither is anyone else. When Riley’s family relocates to a scary new city, the Emotions are on the job, eager to help guide her through the difficult transition. But when Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind— taking some of her core memories with them—Fear, Anger and Disgust are left reluctantly in charge. Joy and Sadness must venture through unfamiliar places—Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, Abstract Thought and Dream Productions—in a desperate effort to get back to Headquarters, and Riley.[/quote]

Inside Out is rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action.

• Release Date: June 19, 2015
• Available: 2D and 3D
• Rating: PG
• Voice Cast: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Kaitlyn Dias
• Director: Pete Docter
• Co-Director: Ronnie del Carmen
• Producer: Jonas Rivera
• Screenplay by: Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley

Images courtesy Walt Disney Studios. Used with permission.

In addition to hearing the director speak and an early screening at Disney Social Media Moms, media tickets for our family to an advanced screening were provided to facilitate the Inside Out movie review.