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Inside Out (2015 film)

Inside Out is a 2015 American animated coming-of-age film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Produced by Jonas Rivera, it was directed by Pete Docter from a screenplay he co-wrote with Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley. The film stars the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan. Inside Out follows the inner workings of the mind of Riley, a young girl who adapts to her family's relocation as five personified emotions administer her thoughts and actions.

Inside Out

Kevin Nolting

  • May 18, 2015 (2015-05-18) (Cannes)
  • June 19, 2015 (2015-06-19) (United States)

95 minutes

United States

English

$175 million

$858.8 million

Docter conceived Inside Out in October 2009 after observing changes in his daughter's personality as she grew older. The project was subsequently green-lit, and Docter and co-director Ronnie del Carmen developed the story, while consulting psychologists and neuroscientists in an effort to accurately portray the mind. Development took five-and-a-half years on a budget of approximately $175 million. Significant changes to the film's story and characters delayed the film's production schedule.


Inside Out debuted at the 68th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2015, and was released in the United States on June 19. It received acclaim for its craftsmanship, screenplay, subject matter, plot, and vocal performances—particularly those of Poehler, Smith, Kind, and Black. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named Inside Out one of the top-ten films of 2015. It grossed $858.8 million worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2015. The film was nominated for two awards at the 88th Academy Awards, winning Best Animated Feature, and received numerous other accolades. Philosophical journal Film and Philosophy recognized Inside Out as one of the best animated films ever made. A sequel, Inside Out 2, is scheduled for release on June 14, 2024.

Plot[edit]

In the mind of a young girl named Riley are a series of personified basic emotions that influence her actions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. Riley's experiences become memories that are stored as colored orbs and are sent into long-term memory each night. The aspects of the five most-important "core memories" within her personality take the form of five floating islands. Joy acts as the leader; because she perceives Sadness as an unnecessary burden for Riley, Joy also works to limit Sadness’s influence.


At the age of 11, Riley moves from Minnesota to San Francisco for her father's new job. At first, she has poor experiences: the new house is cramped and old; her father hardly has any time for Riley; a local pizza parlor only serves pizza topped with broccoli, which she dislikes; and the moving van with their belongings was misdirected to Texas and will not arrive for weeks. On Riley's first day at her new school, Sadness retroactively saddens joyous memories, causing Riley to cry in front of her class and creating a sad core memory. Joy tries to dispose of this memory using a pneumatic tube but accidentally knocks loose the other core memories during a struggle with Sadness, disabling the personality islands. Joy, Sadness, and the core memories are sucked out of Headquarters.


In the absence of Joy and Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust are forced to take control of Riley; they try to make happy core memories but the results are disastrous, distancing Riley from her parents, peers, and hobbies. Without the core memories, Riley's personality islands gradually crumble and fall into the "Memory Dump", where things fade to non-existence as they are forgotten. Anger, intending to restore Riley's happiness, convinces Disgust and Fear that Riley should run away to Minnesota.


While navigating the vast long-term memory area, Joy and Sadness encounter Bing Bong, Riley's imaginary friend, who suggests riding the "train of thought" back to Headquarters. After several adventures and mishaps, the trio catches the train but it halts when Riley falls asleep then entirely derails when another island collapses. Joy, who is afraid all of the core memories will become sad, abandons Sadness and tries to ride a "recall tube" back to Headquarters. The ground below the tube collapses, breaking it and plunging Joy and Bing Bong into the Memory Dump. After discovering a sad memory that turned happy when Riley's parents and friends comforted her, Joy finally understands Sadness's purpose in alerting others when Riley is emotionally overwhelmed and needs help. Joy and Bing Bong try to use Bing Bong's song-fueled wagon rocket to escape the Memory Dump. They fail to fully ascend due to their combined weight until Bing Bong sacrifices himself to save Joy by jumping out at the last moment.


Joy reunites with Sadness and they return to Headquarters, where they discover Anger's idea has disabled the console, putting Riley into depression as she boards a bus to Minnesota. To the surprise of the others, Joy hands control of the console to Sadness, who is able to reactivate it and prompt Riley to return to her parents. As Sadness re-installs the core memories, transforming them from happy to sad, Riley tearfully tells her parents she misses her old life. Riley's parents comfort her and tell her they also miss Minnesota. Joy and Sadness work the console together, creating a new core memory that is both happy and sad, and a new island forms, representing Riley's acceptance of her new life in San Francisco. A year later, Riley, now aged 12, has adapted to her new home, made new friends, and returned to her old hobbies and has acquired new ones. Inside Headquarters, Riley's emotions admire her new personality islands and are given a newly-expanded console that has enough room for all of them to work together.

Release[edit]

Marketing[edit]

Marketing Inside Out was considered difficult despite the enthusiasm of executives at Disney and Pixar for the film.[38] Writing for The Washington Post, Kristen Page-Kirby described this as "absolutely screwed".[71] Disney's marketing strategy included an active social media campaign,[72] a worldwide publicity tour,[73] and the creation of five colorful character posters.[74] Kind did not take part in Inside Out's marketing because the producers decided to keep Bing Bong a secret.[48] As a result, the character was excluded from the film's promotion to focus on the emotion characters. Docter considered Kind's decision "smart", recognizing Bing Bong was a "surprise to the audience".[75][76] In the run-up to its release, the film was test-screened for children because executives were worried about its appeal to young viewers.[33] Disney Infinity 3.0 added a platformer-type Inside Out playset featuring all five emotion characters as playable characters.[77][78] A mobile Puzzle Bobble-style game titled Inside Out: Thought Bubbles was released.[79][80]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

Inside Out received critical acclaim,[c] and was listed on many critics' top-ten lists in 2015, ranking fourth.[129] It has an approval rating of 98% based on 382 professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.9/10. The consensus reads, "Inventive, gorgeously animated, and powerfully moving, Inside Out is another outstanding addition to the Pixar library of modern animated classics".[130] Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned Inside Out a score of 94 out of 100 based on 55 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[131] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+-to-F scale.[94] Before Inside Out's release, fans and critics were concerned by a perceived over-dependence on sequels on the part of Pixar that was exacerbated by the announcement of Toy Story 4 (2019), and their films' decline in quality. The New York Times attributed this to DreamWorks Animation's financial problems.[2][132]


Critics praised Inside Out's craftsmanship and Docter's direction,[d] describing it as a return to form for Pixar.[e] Peter Debruge (Variety), Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times), and Todd McCarthy (The Hollywood Reporter) praised the film. Debruge and Turan described it as Pixar's best, calling it "sophisticated" and "audacious". Turan and Richard Brody (The New Yorker) cited the film's engaging visuals, its message about the value of emotions, and the depiction of Riley's imagination, and Debruge and Anthony Lane (The New Yorker) praised its originality.[f] Vulture's David Edelstein said the film is a "new pop-culture touchstone".[147] Despite these overall reviews, The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw and Slant Magazine writer Christopher Gray assessed the film as slightly inferior to Pixar's best works.[148][149]


The scriptwriting, plot, and subject matter were sources of praise.[g] Forbes's Scott Mendelson said the film's script supports its themes[150] whereas Leigh Singer of IGN noted the film's tropes include child devotion, teamwork, and confused chases. Singer said the "tried-and-tested" journey had an unprecedented "licence to go".[156] Rene Rodriguez, writing for the Miami Herald, said the story skips from the beginning to the end and characters inside Riley's head have thin goals.[157] Ann Hornaday (The Washington Post) and A. O. Scott (The New York Times) appreciated its entertaining subject matter.[142][158] The Hindu's Udhav Naig saw the film as promoting mental health but panned its misinterpretation of brain functions.[159]


Media reviews for the actors' performances were very positive;[h] their work was described as "wonderful" and "excellent".[164][165] Edelstein commended Poehler's acting, saying she has "supernatural exuberance but the semi-tonal quavers of doubt that keep that ... from being cloying or cartoonish".[147] Magnett called Anger the "most perfect" character with a "sense of humor and genuine care".[161]

Post-release[edit]

Thematic analysis[edit]

A central theme of Inside Out is the consequences and portrayal of emotions and memories.[173][174][175] Those depicted in the film are "honest" and "generous";[174][176] their goal is maintaining Riley's life.[177] Natasha Moore of the Australian ABC News said of the film's theme: "[If] Riley's carefree life gets more complicated, ... Joy's attempts to deliver uninterrupted happiness become increasingly neurotic".[178] Nicole Markotic said the film explores the relationship between "the many and the one", demonstrating people have "composite" personalities. The different components of one person's personality are vital for that person's "emotional and psychological balance". Depression and sadness are distinct in the film; this distinction is meant to "[offer] individuals strategies to avoid suppressing crucial feelings".[179] Writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Hannah Marcarian and Paul O. Wilkinson said this validation of different emotions helps people express themselves.[180]


Ruth Bettelheim of USA Today wrote human responses to physical and social environments evolved over millions of years and are yet fully understood, as shown by the film's omission of Riley's bodily sensations and their possible effect on mental states. Primatologist Louise Barrett said the film shows disconnection between characters who are not relating to each other or to their own emotions but moments of personal harmony lead to positive interpersonal connections.[181] According to USA Today's Jamie Altman, Inside Out shows major environmental changes can be "difficult, but not impossible, to overcome", recommending it to college students experiencing homesickness or sadness.[182]

Lawsuits[edit]

Three lawsuits followed Inside Out's release. Pediatrician Denise Daniels sued Disney and Pixar in 2017, claiming the film's personified emotions infringed on her pitch for a television series called The Moodsters.[183] Two similar suits followed in 2018; author Carla J. Masterson sued Disney for infringing her books What’s on the Other Side of the Rainbow? and The Secret of the Golden Mirror,[184] and another was brought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California by a Canadian student Damon Pourshian, who had made a film titled Inside Out.[185][186] Pourshian's suit was approved by an Ontario court in 2021.[187] The outcomes of these lawsuits is unknown[184][187] and Daniels' was rejected.[188]

Legacy[edit]

Retrospective assessments[edit]

According to Film and Philosophy, a philosophical journal, Inside Out is one of the best animated films ever made.[189] Various publications, such as IndieWire and The A.V. Club, have referred to Inside Out as a standout entry in the 2010s.[i] A 2016 BBC poll of 177 film critics listed Inside Out as the 41st-best film of the 21st century,[198] and The New York Times placed it seventh on its own list.[199] Empire and The Independent respectively named it 18th- and 41st-best in 2020.[200][201] The film's screenplay was listed number twenty-nine on the Writers Guild of America's "101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (So Far)" in 2021.[202]

Cultural impact[edit]

In 2015, Google started a Made with Code event for Inside Out named "Inside HQ" to encourage children, especially girls, to study programming.[203] Worldwide, it was among the top entertainment Google searches of 2015.[204][205] The film is referenced in the television series The Simpsons.[206][207] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Inside Out was one of the 35 films recommended by The Independent.[208]


Inside Out inspired several Internet memes. Joy and Disgust similarizing the Philippine supercouple nicknamed AlDub was posted on social media in 2015.[209] Riley's mother and maternal characters from other Pixar films were shown in a buttocks-themed "Dump-Truck" meme.[210] The concept of 'Core memories' became a trend on video-sharing service TikTok.[211][212]

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Inside Out

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