I Hear Voices In My Head... "Inside Out"

Inside Out (2015)

Rated PG

Starring Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Richard Kind, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan

Written and Directed by Ronnie Del Carmen and Pete Doctor

The Story:

Riley (Dias) and her parents (Lane & MacLachlan) move from the Midwest to San Francisco. Starting over as an 11 year old is rough. But this tale is told from the perspective of the the little voices inside your head, the emotions that lead you through life: Sadness (Smith), Disgust (Kaling), Anger (Black), Fear (Hader), and their leader, Joy (Poehler). They've got Riley running like a well-oiled machine, but then Sadness keeps inexplicably ruining things. When she and Joy disappear from the command center, Riley is left to be controlled by Fear, Anger and Disgust while Sadness and Joy must try everything they can to get back to help Riley before it's too late.

Leave it to Pixar to take a simple concept and craft it into a funny, moving picture that will make you laugh and cry, often at the same time.

They make kids movies for the kid inside all of us, and never talk down to the little ones in the process.

They've had a few less than stellar offerings over the years, but what studio hasn't?

9 times out of 10, Pixar is going to deliver and give you one of the best movie-going experiences you have all year.

I say this as someone who was getting really, really, really annoyed with the character of Sadness at the beginning of the movie. I was liking everything about the film, except her, for the first 20 minutes or so and was actually about to say "if she doesn't get better really soon, I'm done!"

But patience, being the virtue that it is, won out. That's about when Sadness and Joy are sucked away and must scramble for their lives to get back to save Riley from making some really bad decisions that will affect her life in ways that are quite troubling for anyone.

Yet with the dark themes about how Riley's life is changing, Pixar manages to keep it as amusing as possible, thanks in no small part to all of the vocal cast. Black's distinct voice is so spot on for Anger, and he never fails to entertain.

Be warned, you're going to need a tissue or two before the film is over.

Unless you have no heart, then you're good.

:)

Final Grade: A-