Edit – This is a review from a year ago that I wrote but never had anywhere to publish. Now I finally I want to post this here.

After having seen Inside Out at the cinema, I immediately asked myself the question “are there any imaginary friends I’ve forgotten about?”. This is because it’s one of Pixar’s most powerful and relatable films in recent years. In some ways, it could even be revolutionary; a film where we are able to see the inner workings of a character isn’t anything new (see the 1991 sitcom Herman’s Head), but a children’s film discussing the necessity of sadness and youth mental health is something incredible. According to the director, Pete Docter (2009’s Up and 2001’s Monsters, Inc.), the film took about 5 years to make and it’s obvious to see why; from the animation style that holds such minute details, to the original and creative narrative, to the level of psychological knowledge held within this film. Clearly plenty of time, effort and passion was put into this project. Docter consulted with psychologists to maintain a level of accuracy. Unfortunately, a balance of a good narrative and an accurate one did result in the cutting of some psychological concepts; according to American psychologist Robert Plutchik, there are eight main emotions, but Docter decided the story could only cope with five main characters. Despite that small need for a balance, there are many things that Pixar got right.

Inside Out follows the story of a 12 year old girl and her emotions, as she moves into a new town and school. The main focus of the film remains on her emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust – as they try to cope with growing up, particularly once Joy and Sadness become lost. It’s remarkable that we connect so much with Riley who is given no more than 15 minutes screen time. By seeing exactly how her brain works, it’s not always necessary to see Riley’s reactions on the outside. I was able to connect with Riley, as I happened to see this film at the right time; I was turning 16 and about to go to Sixth Form. It then affected me in a way that meant I was able to sympathise with her character; I too was making a big change that meant I was moving away from my friends, I too was step by step saying goodbye to the last remnants of my childhood. However, unlike most Pixar films, although younger children can appreciate its bright colours and jokes, they won’t be able to appreciate what it means to grow up and begin to leave behind your childhood. It’s only really in the beginning of ‘double digits’ can children appreciate how scary it can be to start the next steps, where you are treated as a more mature person.

The moral of the story is obvious – it’s okay to be sad – and despite the simplicity of it, it’s often forgotten. Emotions are seen to disrupt rationality in western cultures, whereas this film shows how important emotions are in adding clarity to a situation. It takes negative emotions and shows the positive side of them – Fear keeps Riley safe, Disgust stops her from poisoning herself and Anger helps her care more deeply about things. This movie also emphasises the negative side of being overly positive and happy all the time. This is what makes it such an innovative film; it’s able to teach a lesson that even some adults don’t know. Films like Inside Out promote healthy discussion of feelings and mental health in both adults and children and so are incredibly culturally important.

The necessity of sadness is conveyed best in a pivotal scene in which Bing-Bong loses his cart. You can see clearly that it’s not Joy goofing around that makes Bing-Bong feel better, it was Sadness, not only understanding why he was upset, but sympathising and remembering all the great times he had with Riley. You hear a few characters throughout the film asking others to “stop saying that everything will be alright”, but it’s only in this scene that you can see how it’s Sadness that connects people and fixes the scenario, as opposed to overbearing positivity.

Overall, Inside Out is not to be underestimated as another ‘kid’s film’. With the success of the film, many counsellors and therapists are using the characters to help children communicate best what they are feeling. This new-found practical application means that children are slowly being introduced to negative emotions and learning the use of them. One of the most important messages is that bad things happen, but these don’t last forever. Yes, Riley’s personality ‘islands’ fell into the memory dump, but they came back with new additions such as ‘‘Boyband Island”. So yes, you change as you grow up, but that’s not necessarily for the worse. Yes, Sadness was in control in the Mom’s mind and Anger in the Dad’s, but that didn’t mean that they were unhappy. So yes, Joy might not always be at the helm, but that doesn’t mean you can’t carry on. And yes, Bing-Bong was left behind but that was the only way Joy was able to escape. So yes, you have to let go of your past but you can still be happy.