Inside Out

[EricJ]

Maybe the "road movie" format felt too conventional

Specifically speaking of which, they finally showed the longer "plot" trailer to The Good Dinosaur with the Marvel's Ant-Man showings, and...okay, this is the first time I'VE ever had that "Sheesh, that looks lame!" audience knee-jerk reaction to a Pixar trailer. (Well, maybe with Dory in the Nemo teaser.) Or as I joked, "Remember the last time Disney showed us a cool CGI dinosaur teaser where they cut out all the dialogue?..."

Usually we all "sheesh!" at the teaser and then "Ohh, okay!" at the full-plot trailer, but here it was in reverse: The missing-asteroid teaser seemed clever, but the full-plot trailer of our poor under-dino hero having to bond with his new "pet" on another Pixar lost-and-getting-home road trip just made Inside Out seem just that much more brilliant for having Joy & Sadness's road trip have a bit of world-inventiveness to it.

[Ben]

Humor does not necessarily equal "entertainment value": many times a film has been entertaining because of the mystery or suspense, not simply because of any humor. And although Inside Out isn't Pixar's most consistently funny-haha comedy, I would say that most of the big laughs were bigger moments for me than any of their previous films.

But then, if you did ask me which one was an all-out "comedy", I'd probably give it to A Bug's Life! The rest all have guffaws in them, but that's the one that keeps up the funny throughout. Inside Out's laughs are, again, bigger and deeper, however, to the right kind of audience member...and funnier as a result.

[Randall]

Jpcase backed up what I've said all along. Your reaction to this film will depend on what you bring to it, as well as your background--- your age, experiences, and how much you know of neuropsychology.

[Vernadyn]

As a young adult with no kids (though I do work with them), I found Inside Out remarkably poignant. I've been wondering what that says about me. If nothing else, it's marvelous that a mainstream film can elicit this kind of introspection.

[Ben]

Exactly...which is why I think it's an important work that goes beyond just being an "entertainment".

Can't wait to see what Docter comes up with next (and please don't let it be Inside Out 2!).

[Jpcase]

Jpcase backed up what I've said all along. Your reaction to this film will depend on what you bring to it, as well as your background--- your age, experiences, and how much you know of neuropsychology.

Well, I'm not sure that any potential lack of knowledge on my part, regarding neuropyschology, played a role in how I responded to the film. Nor would I say that it had anything to do with my age or life experiences (other than what was going on in my life right at the moment I saw it).

Everything that's been said about the film's merits, in respect to how it captures the inner workings of the mind and the difficulties of growing up, are all things that I appreciated. My biggest issue about the film, I think, is just that it was more plot focused than character driven; something that I often have trouble accepting, but which in this case, felt especially mismatchted with the concept.

You're certainly right though, that it depends on "what you bring to it". Had I seen the film at a different time, when I wasn't going through my own major life disruptions, then I'm sure that I would have had an easier time connecting with it.

[ShyViolet]

Hope things get better for you Jpcase!

[Jpcase]

Thanks Vi! I had actually meant to write June; not July. Things have been a fair bit better the past few weeks.

[ShyViolet]

Glad to hear it.

[Dacey]

I'm very late to the party on this one, as I only just saw the movie yesterday, two days before it was set to leave my local theater. But there were still a fair number of people (including, unfortunately, extremely little kids with parents who thought that loudly scolding them in the theater was perfectly okay!) regardless, which is a bit impressive for a film that's finally winding down after such a strong box office run.

There's no point in an overly long post at this point, but I will repeat the sentiment that others have been expressing. The movie was brilliant. But, like Ben, I'm not sure when I want to see it again. This film had such an impact on me that I felt like I had gone through some form of an emotional cleansing when the credits were rolling. It may take days for it all to fully sink in, but I don't see how this loses the Oscar this year, even with another Pixar film on the way (which, fairly or not, will probably find itself being compared to Inside Out in every single review).

I will say, though, that it's a bit shameful how variously websites have carelessly been reporting that moment in endless internet headlines. Yeah, I know, I saw this a month after it opened, but that scene was on my Facebook newsfeed only days after its release, and I really wish I could've been able to watch the movie without knowing about it. Even worse (well, to me, at least) are "columns" that accuse the Lava short of being "sexist," resulting in me spending the entire thing scratching my head trying to figure out how it was being seen that way. Great way to distract me during a first viewing of an actually really sweet short. (And, okay, I know that everyone has the right to write what they want to on their websites, but after seeing so many nasty comments on the internet, I feel like I know what actual sexism is).

On one last note, did anyone else think that Riley crying was some of the absolute best character animation that Pixar has ever done? Seriously, I get emotional just thinking about those scenes.

[Ben]

First off, what is *that* moment you are mentioning? I'm scratching my head and know it'll come back if you give me a hint!

Second, I wasn't a big fan of Lava as I wasn't sure what the point was other than it being something sweet but unsubstantial (I thought, "so what?"), though the song is an earworm that is still burrowing around my head! But despite its shortcomings (I didn't think the timespan was very well defined), I can't see how it was sexist!?

Lastly, yes, I did think Riley was very well handled throughout, but that her parents were terrible! Some of their movement was so simple (but not in the good sense), but luckily they weren't the main focus. The emotions, of course, were wonderful, but - gasp! - I did come out thinking at, at this particular point in time, I think Disney still has Pixar beat. Maybe not in terms of writing, but in overall character animation? Yeah. At times I was awed by what was happening visually in Inside Out, at others I did sometimes think "why isn't this as good or better than what Disney's doing?"...

[Dacey]

Let's see...it involved a character that rhymes with Ding Dong....

[EricJ]

Let's see...it involved a character that rhymes with Ding Dong....

Ah, got in too late.
(It's not the utter obsessive one-scene preoccupation critics and gushy grownups have with Jessie's Song, Ellie's Montage or the Furnace, but they're just sort of used to putting all their eggs in one basket for easier rationalization of why they gushed over a Pixar movie.)

And frankly, who else was expecting that they'd tie up a script thread, and that if

they needed more emergency song power, the TripleDent Jingle would do the trick?

Second, I wasn't a big fan of Lava as I wasn't sure what the point was other than it being something sweet but unsubstantial (I thought, "so what?"), though the song is an earworm that is still burrowing around my head! But despite its shortcomings (I didn't think the timespan was very well defined), I can't see how it was sexist!?

Like the Blue Umbrella didn't feel it was anything...in particular except for some technical experiments, Lava also felt like they were working out some studio experiments--More realistic landscapes/ocean, while WDFA was working on Moana?
It's nice and all, but felt more like it'll get a mention at Disney's Aulani resort, if at all.

[Ben]

Ahh...see, I found that totally predictable and was touched by many other "that" moments, so I wasn't sure which one you were aiming at.

[Dacey]

In the states, that's the scene that's gotten far and away the most press. Heck, USA Today even did an entire piece on the character.