While the trailers and adverts might make this seem like it's a happy romp, it's not. Believe me it's not. This, in my opinion, is a very sad film. It took me by surprised me and made me remember aspects of my childhood I don't normally keep at the forefront of my mind. This is despite the comedy and the happy joy-joy attitude seen for about 50% of the film. I really related to Riley, so much so that I actually cried quite a bit at the theatre. I felt a bit embarrassed but I really couldn't help it. It wasn't the acts in the film that made me sad, it was the explanation afterwards. Riley's motivations. Hearing it in words after seeing everything broke me. A Disney film hasn't made me cry like that ever.

You absolutely have to see Inside Out. But, don't go into it looking for it to put a smile on your face after a bad day. It's a really emotional ride. However, the message in the end is really worth it. It's a message that we should really get across to the children of today. I wish the message being put forward by this movie was being aimed at children back when I was a kid. It would have really helped. It would have indeed.

Pixar returns after a 1 year gap with this literal look inside the mind of a child, Riley. We see her emotions personified into Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness.

The initial few minutes of Inside Out set the scene out in a simple, easy to digest manner. We see Riley at her birth and the simultaneous birth of her simplest emotions, which take control of her. Memories are created and assigned an emotion, represented by a colour, then stored. It’s almost heavy-handed by Pixar standards but this approach quickly starts to make sense as the film goes on.

Everything goes swimmingly until Riley gets knocked for six with a move to San Francisco; a far cry from her native Minnesota. Her friends and interests all get up-rooted and she considers running away. Meanwhile inside, her emotions are equally out of whack as Joy gets knocked off the controls by a traumatic event.

What a beautiful, original, heartfelt piece of work this is. Docter delves deep into the human condition while somehow pulling off an entertaining family adventure. It’s best not to think too much about the logic of what’s going on; just like the real brain, the actual processes that create memories and personality are fuzzy and chaotic.

Inside Out isn’t afraid to make choices that will make people cry out ‘that doesn’t make sense!’. That’s because it has instead chosen to operate on a higher plane, exploring the reasons behind our actions and reactions to certain events, our motivations in life and dealing with trauma. If you’re worrying that they only picked five emotions to deal with, you’re missing the point.

The film runs mostly on metaphor, and with that it visits previously unexplored territory in children’s cinema. For instance the suggestion that sadness can often be what helps us through difficult times is not something that sells Minion toys in happy meals; but the film makers don’t seem to care. It’s OK to be sad. Sometimes it’s the only way we can feel anything at all.

There’s also a running commentary on how memories affect every part of our lives, from our current mood, our personality, to how we interact with other people. Docter manages to explain the importance of memories, and equally the importance of loading them with emotion. Simply by changing the ‘colour’ of a memory he’s saying that what one remembers is always defined by how one remembers.

The real stroke of genius is that these relatively complex themes are set to the bright, colourful backdrop of Riley’s mind. The set design and art direction are gorgeous and tie the whole thing together nicely. Pixar seems to be the only major animation studio that genuinely cares about how every frame looks, and here that attention to detail only adds to the film.

One other more ‘technical’ aspect that stands out is the inspired choices for the voice performances. These people haven’t been picked because they are big names, it’s because they fit the bill perfectly. Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith play Joy and Sadness respectively and their work is a large part of what makes the film so memorable.

On a personal level, I found this to be one of the most fascinating, profound experiences I’ve had from a film. There is so much more to talk about, so much more to be uncovered, that I feel like I cannot do it justice in words.

Another smart, entertaining, emotional masterpiece from the studio.

The minute I heard about this film, I couldn't contain my fangirling. Pixar + emotional psychology = my favourite things. This film didn't disappoint. The creativity in this film is inspirational. The personality islands, imagination land, long-term memory, even the train of thought. The way it expresses these ideas of how the mind works is magical. Not to mention the way it represents depression. I think this is ground-breaking in establishing an understanding in both how depression works and empathy for how it might feel. It also doesn't actually make a big deal out of it. It treats the subject as a matter of fact, which is such an important message as it is so normal. It will make people think about how their mind works, which emotions run their mind, what their personalities are based on etc. It's so though-provoking but also heart-warming and fun. The characters have some quippy dialogue which brings the entertainment value to colourful and well-thought out world of Riley's mind. I'm debating whether the characters of the emotions get any depth as, as you can imagine, it would be quite hard if their based on a sole emotion however with Joy and Sadness, this is explored a little. What made me well up a bit and I think it's gonna be so impactful to it's audience is how they discover the importance of Sadness. And well, all the emotions. This is so important to teach children and I think this could be a great start for some mental wellbeing lessons. Pixar have truly outdone themselves.

Another great movie from Pixar. The story in entangling and is structured in a master way to show us in a nice recreation how the mind works and emotions like sadness are important for a healthy life.

A must to be seen.

A powerfully moving story, Inside Out takes place inside the mind of a young girl, Riley, as she tackles relatively normal hassles, from growing up to moving away. Inside her mind comes five emotions, all with different perceptions of life.

There's Joy, who takes charge and her job is to keep Riley content, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, and together, they work together (or try) to keep Riley from harming herself. They live together in the headquarters, or Riley's head, and they look after Riley's memories.

After eleven years of enjoyment and content, Riley and her parents are forced to move out of Minnesota, away from her friends and hockey team, and moves to the city of San Francisco inside a desolate and cold house.

But things get even more anarchic when Joy and Sadness are sundered away from the rest of the gang, holding onto Riley's core memories that make Riley, well, Riley. One by one, the islands of personality fall apart as the rest of the gang back in headquarters watch in dismay and anguish. After all, Joy is not there to keep things under control.

Inside Out truly contemplates the hardships of growing up, but every problem comes to a heart-wrenching solution. The movie truly captivates this and continues the Pixar tradition of inspiration, family, and friendship in a little bit under two hours. Watch this, you must.