Inside Out (2015)

Now for the first Pixar film of this countdown, one of their recent gems, Inside Out.

The Movie:

Since this is the first Pixar film on this blog, let's start with a bit of studio history.  The early Pixar films were produced under an agreement in which Pixar made the movies and Disney distributed them.  But in addition, Disney owned all story and character rights, including the right to make sequels on their own.  However, after their initial success, Pixar wanted more control over their films, both rights and profits.  If they split from Disney, though, they would lose any connection to some of their most beloved characters, with everything from all movies made from Toy Story through Cars.  Eventually, Disney reached an agreement to buy Pixar, so long as both studios remained as separate entities.  Also, John Lasseter would take creative control of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation.

Before the deal went through, Pixar had begun work on what would have been their first non-Disney films had the acquisition not gone through.  These works were very unusual for mass-market family films, but they became three of the most beloved Pixar movies - Ratatouille, Wall-E, and Up.

In the period since these films, Pixar has produced a mix of sequels to earlier works and new material.  Reception of these movies was generally positive but not as strong as the earlier ones.  And then, along came Inside Out.

Inside Out is the 15th movie produced by Pixar.  It tells the story of five emotions, Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust, that help guide the actions of 11-year old Riley.  Riley is a generally cheerful girl until she and her parents move from Minnesota to San Francisco.  While her world is in turmoil on the outside, inside Joy and Sadness get lost in the workings of Riley's head.  Joy and Sadness have to find a way to get back to headquarters and help Riley deal with these new, troubling experiences.

While most Pixar films work on different levels for children and adults, this may be the one that works significantly better for adults than children.  While the movie is colorful and fun, children much younger than Riley will possibly get lost, not having the life experiences that this movie reflects.  Those around Riley's age and older will have a better time connecting, as they will be or will have experienced the aspects of maturing that are reflected in the emotions' journey in this movie.

The score to this film is not bombastic, but wonderfully appropriate.  The primary theme is a cheerful piano motif that captures the joyful innocence of Joy.  This movie was scored by frequent Pixar contributor Michael Giacchino.  Interestingly, Giacchino had scored Tomorrowland, which came out a month prior, and Jurassic World, which came out a week prior.  When Inside Out opened at number 2 behind Jurassic World the weekend of June 19, Giacchino had scored the top two box office films of that weekend.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoy this film.  It's highly creative, thought-provoking, and well told.  The animation looks nice and the voice acting is well done.

Presence in the Parks:

As a newer film, it doesn't have much at this time.  My last trip to Walt Disney World was just before this movie came out, so I'm certain they were promoting it (along with Tomorrowland) in the preview theaters.  But now, you can find Joy and Sadness as character meets in Epcot.

At one time, there was speculation that this movie would be used in revitalizing the Wonders of Life Pavilion at Epcot.  This pavilion opened in Epcot in 1989 and closed in 2007.  Among the attractions there were a simulator ride called Body Wars and an animatronic/video screen hybrid show called Cranium Command.  Cranium Command was a story about a cranium commando who had to pilot a 12-year old boy.  The show took place inside the boy's head, and the commando communicated with the other organs on various screens.  In an interesting connection, one of the animators who worked on this attraction was Pete Docter, the director of Inside Out.

DNA tower outside Wonders of Life, June 1995

Though the attractions are all closed, the pavilion has been used since 2007 as a space for various festivals.  Work has recently begun on cleaning up the exterior of the building, and there is speculation that it may be used in conjunction with the new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction going in the former Universe of Energy building next door.

The closed Wonders of Life, May 2015

Other people have speculated that Inside Out could be used as part of a refurbishment of the Imagination Pavilion at Epcot.  However, nothing official has been announced at this point.

Imagination Pavilion, May 2015