1003. Inside Out (2015)

Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black

Director: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen

Running Time: 94 mins

Inside Out is an American film about the emotions, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust inside 11 year-old Riley’s head, whose entire world falls into disarray when Riley moves from her hometown to San Francisco.

This is the Pixar that we know and love! The past four years have been a bit of a down period filled with unoriginal sequels and somewhat boring ideas, but this film puts the legendary company back on form with one of the most original, entertaining and emotional films you’ll see all year.

On the face of things, this is a bit of a confusing concept that shouldn’t really work, because it has to intertwine differing story lines between inside the head, and outside the head. However, this takes this incredibly original concept and shows it off ingeniously, effortlessly blending the two stories together, and making for a stunningly entertaining and fascinating watch throughout.

Let’s start with the fact that, for kids, I think that this is the best Pixar film of all. It’s full of great personalities, vibrant colours, amazingly imaginative worlds and ideas from start to finish, and for the little ones, this will be like one brilliant rollercoaster playset like they’ve never seen before.

However, there’s so much more in this film beyond the kids’ stuff. This is probably Pixar’s most thoughtful and insightful production, because it really makes you think about your own emotions and your own memories from when you were younger in a more personal and relatable way that I’ve ever seen.

As a result, this is at times devastatingly emotional, and appropriately so. Whether it’s playing on beautiful nostalgia or just extreme sadness, this film is a real tear-jerker, and not at all in the conventional sense, because it really taps into your emotions and gives a deep perspective on what is going on inside your head, and in a way that is as convincing as anything.

Away from the powerful emotion of the story, it’s still massively entertaining. It’s a laugh-a-minute fest from start to finish, with excellent comedy throughout that will be enjoyable for everyone.

The voice cast is incredible too. Amy Poehler does a great job at being as upbeat as possible as Joy, Phyllis Smith is a hilarious and convincing Sadness, whilst Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader and Lewis Black are all perfect as supporting emotions Disgust, Fear and Anger.

Overall, Inside Out gets an 8.9 from me, because it’s a stunningly original film with the deep heart and emotion coupled with the brilliant humour and fun that Pixar has always been famous for.