Disney Pixar’s Inside Out | Play & Go Movie Review

Disney Pixar’s Inside Out | Opens 18 June 2015

Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head? Disney•Pixar’s original new film “Inside Out” ventures inside the mind to find out.

Disney•Pixar’s “Inside Out” takes us to the most extraordinary location yet – inside the mind of Riley. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Anger, Disgust, Joy, Fear and Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control centre inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life.

When Riley’s family relocates to a scary new city, the Emotions are on the job, eager to help guide her through the difficult transition. But when Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind—taking some of her core memories with them—Fear, Anger and Disgust are left reluctantly in charge. Joy and Sadness must venture through unfamiliar places—Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, Abstract Thought and Dream Productions—in a desperate effort to get back to Headquarters, and Riley.

As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

Play & Go Movie Review

Just simply put, this is a really clever movie and will appeal to all ages on different levels. On one hand it is funny, entertaining and colourful but there is also so much depth to the story. The inner workings of the mind are explored in such a clever and intricate way. While the description of the movie (above) does sound a bit complicated, it makes sense on the screen. There are many jokes for the adults (some may be a little cliched but you will be able to relate to them) and interesting sidelines that young kids won’t understand. It is fast moving and funny enough though to entertain the younger ones.

Scary Factor – if you have a child who is afraid of clowns, be warned there is one scene where a gigantic clown chases some of the characters. One character makes the ultimate sacrifice and is lost forever, which is a bit sad. Thankfully, and unusually for Disney, the main character Riley, has both her parents alive and is not orphaned (maybe this is the influence of Pixar).

This is one of those movies which you can happily watch again as you are sure to pick up things you may have missed the first time. One of the life lessons from the movie is that it is ok to be sad sometimes and that sadness is an important part of life. When faced with difficult situations, it’s ok to feel sad and sometimes being sad may help you experience joy again. It’s a very clever way to teach this lesson. It’s something that not only kids but adults can appreciate too.

The little short film preceding ‘Inside Out’ is also brilliant. ‘Lava’ is a beautiful musical love story of volcanoes in the sea – I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it’s very enjoyable – the tune may haunt you for a while afterwards.

Both ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Lava’ was enjoyed by our whole team, with kids from ages 5 to 10 and the adults appreciated it just as much. Be sure to stay and watch the little shorts at the end too.

One of our lovely readers, Kristy, who also saw the movie preview had this to say about the movie:

My boys are 5 and 16. We all thought the mini movie was sweet (and on the quiet that song has been sung around the house).
The 16 year old thought it was dark – he claimed it was Pixar’s darkest movie yet and is planning to go see it with some mates.
My 5 year old had never been to a 3d movie so he was amazed at the depth of the movie. He loved the way the emotions were shown by colour and characters. He also came home with the memory ball from the movie (a balloon given at that session) and told his 3 year old brother about the emotions in the movie and it was a sweet moment watching them discuss emotional awareness on their own level.
I liked the way the movie left off on a happy note by exploring the emotion characters inside other people’s heads, like the dad, cat, bus driver etc.

For more information about this film visit the official Disney Pixar website.

What: Disney Pixar’s Inside Out

When: Opens Thursday 18 June 2015

Where: Selected Cinemas (check your local guides)

Who: Rating CTC

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