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There’s been some rumblings lately that Pixar Animation Studios have somewhat lost their mojo and its competitors, particularly DreamWorks, have actually raced ahead when it comes to quality animated productions.
I would be inclined to agree, with recent efforts (coincidentally, or perhaps not, since they were purchased by Walt Disney) focussing on producing unnecessary and lacklustre sequels to merchandising cash cows such as Cars 2 and Monsters University.
However, choosing to go back to the drawing board and delivering a fresh, original tale with unique characters results in what will easily be the best animated film you’ll see this year. When Pixar truly put their mind to it, no one else can touch them.
The studio’s 15th feature, Inside Out, is a wonderful tale of five emotions – Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger – who are the building blocks for the consciousness of a young girl named Riley.
These five creatures literally live in her mind in a mission-control headquarters and interpret her reactions according to which of the five is the most appropriate responder.
This helps to build a bank of memories which are represented by real ball-shaped objects (coloured according to the colour of the emotion who processes it) which are stored and used again later to shape Riley’s personality.
It sounds slightly convoluted, especially for kiddies, but it really isn’t. Each emotion has, as you’d expect, its own personality that lives up to its name in hilarious style and the opening act firmly establishes the ground rules.
Most of Riley’s memories of her childhood in a quaint suburban Minnesota town are golden, which is the colour of Joy, but then at the age of 11 when the film truly kicks in, she is forced to relocate to a run-down area of San Francisco where she doesn’t know anybody and feels lost.
The memory balls turn to red and purple as fear and anger start to take over, and after a traumatic first day at school, Joy and Sadness become trapped inside Riley’s memory vault, leaving Anger, Fear and Disgust to essentially run the show and control Riley.
What follows is a wonderful journey of emotions (literally in an on-screen sense and figuratively off it as we laugh and cry along with these brilliant characters) that involves humour, heart and some creative decisions that really push the boundaries of the genre.
What Pixar have always been able to nail better than any other studio is the balance between catering for adults and children. Of course at their core these are films for children, but they manage to throw in lots of subtle jokes and themes that adults can enjoy. In particular, the subtext of Riley being taken over by negative emotions just at the time she’s entering adolescence will make any watching parents nod and laugh/tear their hair out (delete as appropriate depending on if their child has successfully navigated through this tricky period or not yet) in agreement.
The script is one of the funniest Pixar have produced yet, with jokes coming thick and fast, particularly when the action briefly switches to the inside of other characters’ minds and giving the perspective of their emotions.
But there’s softer moments too. Although the plot is driven by Joy’s fierce determination to get back to the control room, it’s telling that Sadness is alongside her every step of the way. The directors’ message is clear: sadness will undeniably be a part of your life as much as happiness will.
It’s a poignant and thoughtful missive that will perhaps be lost on the children as they enjoy the visual explosion of colour in front of them, but parents might shed a tear or two knowing that youthful innocence will only stretch for so long.
As is par for the course, the visuals are astounding, featuring an even brighter and sickly-sweet palette than normal. The voice cast are on great form too, with each emotion having its own personality and individual slant on events occurring around them.
With Inside Out, Pixar has come roaring back to form with its most daring and inventive effort yet. Pushing thematic boundaries regarding emotion and growing up, it delivers a riotous 90 minutes that will have both adults and children laughing from their stomachs and crying into their popcorn in equal measure. Outstanding.
