A movie about emotions will bring out your emotions: "Inside Out" movie review

The five emotions. The newest Disney-Pixar movie was released June 18.

If you haven't sobbed your eyes out at a Disney-Pixar film then you haven't really lived. Disney-Pixar movies are known to bring out emotions in grown adults and children alike. The franchise’s newest film, “Inside Out,” released Thursday night, is about just that. Emotions. This film is unlike anything we have seen before. The film follows five Emotions inside the head of 11-year old Riley who is normally happy. When her parents move her from Minnesota to San Francisco sadness engulfs her, eventually destroying her personality and memories.

There is a “control panel” where the five Emotions can dictate how Riley will feel about a situation. The sudden sadness comes from the emotion “Sadness,” voiced by Phyllis Smith, when she accidently touches one of Riley’s happy memories, making it sad. “Joy,” voiced by Amy Poehler tries to take control of the situation but the two end up being swept out of “headquarters” and into “long-term memory” having to make their way back with the “train of thought” and through “Imagination Land.”

Riley’s collection of memories, all stored in her memory of 11 years, are stored in bowling ball-like spheres, each sphere color-coded depending on which of the five emotions gave her the memory. Joy likes to bring up that most of Riley’s memories are yellow, Joy’s color.

            

The film is incredibly clever while inside the mind of Riley. It is arguable that this film is not for younger viewers and it may be hard for them to understand. The film handles the concepts of feelings, consciousness and core memories that make a person who they are. Riley is asked to be a “happy girl” for her parents during the big move but her emotions are indifferent because Joy isn’t there to control the happy part of her.

A still from "Inside Out" that defined the film and the sadness inside of 11-year old Riley.

According to Variety, “Disney-Pixar’s animated “Inside Out” has already broken a box office record with $3.7 million in the U.S. in Thursday night showings” and that number can only be expected to increase within the next week alone. Disney-Pixar films are known for being heart-breakingly sad and gut-wrenchingly funny with always bringing out emotions and “Inside Out” is no different.  

Poehler’s voice role of Joy seems like it was made for her. I felt like I was living inside an episode of "Parks and Recreation" with Joy having the same antics and positivity as my heroine Leslie Knope. The film also perfectly casted Mindy Kaling as “Disgust,” Bill Hader as “Fear” and Lewis Black as “Anger.” This is Disney-Pixar’s fifteenth collaboration.