Movie Review: Inside Out

Courtesy: Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios

Starring the voices of Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black, Bill Hader, and Phyllis Smith

Directed by Pete Docter

Rated PG

My Rating: *****/5

The 15th film from Pixar Animation Studios has arrived in the form of "Inside Out". This "major emotion picture" is the ideal film to celebrate 20 years of animation since the original "Toy Story" first graced theater screens in 1995.

The story concerns a young girl named Riley (voice of Kaitlyn Dias) and her parents (voices of Diane Lane and Kyle McLachlan) moving to San Francisco and trying to cope with this change. The emotions that such a change can instill consist of Joy (Poehler); Sadness (Smith), Anger (Black); Fear (Hader), and Disgust (Kaling). With some difficulties (such as changing schools and unsavory pizza toppings); they try to guide Riley through the changes in her life.

Then crisis strikes when Joy and Sadness get lost in Riley's memory banks (literally- the film portrays them as a central hub of the human mind; with a lively environment to match); and the two distinct personalities must find their way back while Fear, Anger, and Disgust try to deal with the chaos of the whole thing.

The situation is instantly relatable to anyone who has gone through the situations portrayed in the film. Not only that; the personified emotions play off each other in a manner worthy of their actors' diverse backgrounds not only in film; but in TV series such as "Saturday Night Live" and "The Office." Pete Docter; who had previously made the wonderful "Monsters, Inc." and "Up," has managed to deliver another film that can easily get you on the same wavelength as the emotions you see onscreen.

The animation is also; as usual, worthy of the studio's pedigree. The way the characters move is slick; and the use of color and lighting is masterful. The environments also make great use of the San Francisco location as well as giving the state of Riley's mind every nuance short of its own zip code in terms of design (a key scene shows how dreams are made in a film studio; even down to scripting situations such as enchanted unicorns).

Of course, the film is also preceded by one of Pixar's traditional shorts; in the form of the film "Lava." A love story of two volcanoes is the ideal curtain-raiser to such a great film.

Even though the revolution Pixar brought along in 1995 has long since become the establishment; "Inside Out" proves to be just as grand in making you feel as any live-action film. Whether it's a group of toys or a midwestern family adjusting to life in the Bay Area; Docter knows how to hit all the right notes for any age group. Whether it's fear of being the new kid in town; joy over bonding with your family, sadness over leaving your old life behind; anger about your belongings being held up by movers, or disgust at garish fashions; it is the ideal family film that will easily be remembered for another 20 years as Pixar continues to build a legacy on par with Disney themselves.