Why "Inside Out" is My Favorite Pixar Movie

Scene from Inside Out

It's that time of year again. It's when the internet gathers together to make the argument for which film exemplifies what makes Pixar brilliant. It's an exciting, thought-provoking period because, on the one hand, there is no right answer. Who's to say that WALL-E  is greater than Finding Nemo? The diversity of each film is astounding and explains why they're towering giants in the American animation market. However, this is my chance to make the argument not only for why I think that their 2015 film Inside Out is yet another masterpiece, but is a masterpiece that explains most succinctly why Pixar remains a vital company in the 21st century. It's got everything perfectly in place and does so with the familiar formula better than it's ever been.

The year 2015 was an important year for Pixar for two reasons. It was the first year that they released two films in one calendar year: Inside Out and the less successful The Good Dinosaur. In more important news, it was the 20th anniversary of Toy Story, their debut feature that helped to revolutionize the industry. With Toy Story 4 out today, there's no need to explain the impact that these talking toys had on movie-making in the years since. It's gotten to the point that almost every major American animation studio uses the technology in some form. There's tons of competition, including Pixar's parent company Disney. But, what exactly makes Pixar special and arguably superior (within the same time frame) to Disney? It's all present in the film they used to mark the occasion, which didn't focus on anything external like family drama or an environmental expose. It was about human emotions.

To quote the late Roger Ebert, movies are an empathy machine. They connect us to worlds that go beyond what we understand. The average human will never get to see inside a brain, and even less will get to visualize it in a way that turns the abstract into something recognizable. The worlds that Pixar has created before have mostly been extensions of ours. It's easy to see the world of Ratatouille when peering into a kitchen, or A Bug's Life when looking at a grassy field. Inside Out is quite possibly the first time that they truly presented a world that audiences hadn't seen before. It isn't the first film (or piece of entertainment) to explore human emotions, but it is one that felt serendipitous to the 20th anniversary. The film's execution presented a fascinating duality, where it not only gave this perfect story of one child's puberty, but also an analysis of how Pixar functions in our lives.

It is impossible to not see the core emotions together and imagine the Pixar staff sitting in a board room writing down ideas. What will make us joyful, sad, anxious, angry, or disgusted? While this is a condensed version of the real emotions, they embody the simple idea of manipulation. They watch through our brain, pulling levers and pushing buttons with the hope of creating lasting memories. The film builds to a simple concept by the end that you can't have sadness without joy. Anyone who had seen director Pete Docter's previous film Up will understand how typical of Pixar this is. Up may become a great adventure movie, but most will recall the opening montage that famously brought people to tears. While the theme of Inside Out can be applied to the greater picture of life, having sadness and joy is crucial to what makes Pixar last. There is a need to recognize the spectrum of humanity in order to appreciate what's important in life.

On a second level, Pixar made a film so intricate that it works on a variety of levels. The story follows one family as they move to San Francisco, CA. Through the eyes of Riley, there's a sense of insecurity of being alone in a new city, incapable of making friends and having trouble adjusting to a house that is yet a home. There's a conflict with the parents and there's an uncertainty in her life that works on its own. As depicted in this great YouTube video, the story of protagonist Riley is so well-written that Inside Out could've stayed outside and still told a compelling story. Every plot beat checks out, capturing one of the most human characters that Pixar had created. Given that the film was created as a way for Docter to better understand what his child was going through, it makes sense that this element would be given serious focus and thus reflects excellence in writing. While most of the film takes place inside, the ability to understand the world outside shows that neither was using the other as crutches.

The world inside however is what makes the film pop. With an excellent voice acting performance by Amy Poehler as Joy, she embodies the ideal form of an infant into a young child. She is overeager to embrace the best in everything, not questioning anything. Even if there's occasional interference from other emotions, she appears to be in charge throughout the opening montage. She controls most of the story because she wants what's best for Riley, though she has an issue understanding when things change. Without friends, what is there to be happy about? The house is empty and she has no reason to be optimistic. She crams positive memories into her brain with the hope of pushing her forward. This creates a rift that eventually brings forward the presence of the other emotions and the world inside Riley's brain, which could crumble if Joy lets go of everything for even a day.

The world inside Riley's brain is full of things that Joy thinks a child would love. There are various lands of playful activities that she enjoys visiting. However, the presence of Sadness (the excellent voice-work of Phyllis Smith) threatens order. Outside, Riley is falling apart as Joy chases Sadness deep into Riley's brain. Fear, Anger, and Disgust take over and leads to awkward first days of school and an annoying jingle Triplemint Gum that keeps popping up, much to the chagrin of everyone. Inside the brain is the memories and the interests starting to change. There's also the presence of Bing-Bong (Richard Kind), who is Riley's imaginary friend who is a stray that exists solely to wander around, waiting to come back to life. 

The brain in Inside Out may not look like the anatomy that people know, but it's easy to understand the complex concepts on display. When Joy accepts the value of Sadness, the story becomes something richer. Even as it delves into fascinating ideas - such as how dreams are made - it becomes a unique world the likes of which Pixar has never made before. Psychiatrists have used this film to explain complex emotions to patients, thus proving how much value the film has beyond entertainment. Besides excellent animation and even better storytelling, it captures the complexities of youth in a manner that is easy to understand. It doesn't sacrifice action or creativity in the process. Instead, it incorporates it into decades of psychological research in a way that is ambitious. You don't have to learn about emotions from this to appreciate the movie, but it does help.

It's true that every Pixar movie has the layers that make it a unique vision. The fact that they have produced so many powerful stories is a testament to their staff. However, they haven't created a world on par with Inside Out, if just because of how much work went into making the brain something tangible. It helps that it also features one of Michael Giacchino's greatest scores, which starts with a simple, sweet piano melody and builds to something grander. It sounds like a jittering of nerves working through the human body, sending bits of information elsewhere. Most of all, it works as a catchy piece of music and has something emotional underneath once it clicks. While it's arguably not as responsive as Up, it still manages to stick with the listener, creating a vision of this world that is full of youthful innocence, free of the deeper complexes of life. 

With limited exceptions, there aren't too many bad things that I can say about Pixar. Their work has been great and captures CG animation at its very best. With the recent release of Toy Story 4, it's once again a period where I get nostalgic for their films. It gives me a chance to revisit them and better understand what makes them so essential to my movie shelf. Inside Out may be on the younger side, but in the short time since its release it has come to embody a unique place in my life and Pixar's vision of the world. I do believe that it can be read as a commentary on the studio 20 years on while also working as a great film. There's so many that I do love (I used to call Toy Story 2 my favorite until this point), but none as much as this. As a writer, there's too much with Inside Out that I love in its structure and execution. What is your favorite film and why?