Two notes of criticism and one delight: We watched the movie in 3-D finding it added little if anything to the experience. Some minor visual depth was passingly interesting at best, but was not worth the real headache and distraction of having to wear cheep 3-D glasses. The whole family agrees that 2-D would have been preferred. Secondly, although there were a few interesting bits and gags in the end credits, they were not up to Pixar par where waiting through the entire credit roll is a pleasure in itself. That said, neither of these criticisms are about the story and movie as produced and have no real bearing on the quality of the film. On a different note, there was a lovely music-based short before the feature film called Lava that actually made me cry. I feel like a sap, but it touched a nerve. The music is performed by Kuana Torres Kahele and reminded me of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Hawaiian sweetness; the story is simple and takes place over the lifetime of a volcano (millions of years?). The result of good music and a tale of love over millions of years...? I leaked a bit.
The conclusion: Rather than analyzing the good and the great, I'll cut to the chase. Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen nailed Inside Out. Much like Pixar's Up (also one of Docter's stories), the subject matter feels real and involves both humor and sorrow. Resolutions are believable and therefore, satisfying. Anything less would have made the film feel silly (perhaps like Cars). Metacritic's 94/100 and Rotten Tomatoes' 98% tells the rest of the tale of how this film was received by viewing audiences. It ranks highly for me in the Pixar opus, but cannot top WALL-E, Ratatouille, or Finding Nemo.
Sadness is crucial to renewal: I found the following wikipedia entry about the story creation quite interesting, especially Pete Docter's thoughts on his own emotions and the time he spent working on this story for Pixar:
Docter estimated it took four years of development for the film to achieve success in marrying the architecture of Riley's mind and her personal troubles.[26] The concept of "personality islands" helped develop the film's emotional stakes, as they directly affect events inside her mind and in her life.[25] In one draft, the characters fell into "Idea Fields", where they would "cultivate new ideas", much like a farmer would cultivate crop.[26] The character of Bing Bong—a discarded old imaginary friend—came about in one draft of the film as part of a refugee camp inside Riley's mind.[25] It was difficult to achieve the correct tone for the film; for example, viewers could not be distracted by Joy's nature or feel negative about the mess she helps steer Riley into.[25] Rivera credited the casting of Amy Poehler, in addition to the idea of moving, with helping the film find the right tone.[25]
An early version of the film focused on Joy and Fear getting lost together, as it seemed to be the most humorous choice. By July 2012, the project was set for an evaluation screening with other Pixar filmmakers. Docter gradually began to feel that the story was not working, which led to fears that he might be fired. He took a long walk at his home one Sunday, in which he began to consider himself a failure, his previous successes "flukes", and a general sense that he should resign from the film.[21] While pondering what he would miss about Pixar, he concluded that he would miss his coworkers and friends most of all. He soon reached a breakthrough: that emotions are meant to connect people together, and that relationships are the most important things in life.[22] He decided to replace Fear with Sadness, which he felt is crucial to renewal. He met with Rivera and Del Carmen that night to explain his change of plans, and to his surprise, they reacted positively to it. At the screening, he informed his superiors that new plans for the film were in order. Although a "scary moment", the film remained in production.[17]
Joy and Sadness: Even though I felt connected to Riley's character (and its obvious complexities), it is her emotions that I find myself dwelling on; not the more one or two-dimensional characterizations themselves, but her actual emotions exhibited. My takeaways from the film are not character based, but rather, observations about emotions, the concept: Without joy ahead of us (hope?) we are doomed. Sadness is not despair (the former is necessary, the latter is hell), and sadness serves a healthy place in our lives. While these are probably not the messages intended by the creators of Inside Out, they are emotional conclusions that are turning in my head as a result of this lovely and well crafted story. I find it a tremendous win when a fun and thoughtful animated film that is age appropriately rated PG can provoke serious thought in me. It makes me wonder... as I mention "things" turning in my head, who's at the controls in there?
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