Inside Out was cute. It's a very interesting movie.
It's very meta, and it's not so overt that it comes off as obnoxious, but it was a little hard to enjoy without wearing my thinking cap.
The movie is actually a cute way of introducing a really abstract concept to kids, but it also serves as a beautiful reminder to the older folks that we should be grateful our heads work so much more smoother than a child's.
Honestly, I tried my best to not look at this objectively, but given the subject matter it was hard not to.
As I proceeded to dissect this movie, I began to compare the concepts presented here with the basic psychological concepts I've learned throughout my twenty or so years of living. The movie made so much sense, but it got to the point where it felt like I was chewing a piece of juicy fruit: everything was swell and beautiful and wonderful for the first few scenes, then the rest was kind of just there.
I mean, if I wasn't sentimental, I'd probably not care for the latter 2/3 of the movie. But I do get it, change is hard. Life is tough when it feels like your self isn't around, and your head is essentially on auto pilot with your id running rampant up there.
As the movie went on, I came to realize what made this movie special: there comes a time in every kid's life where your head goes outta whack and you forget what it's like to feel. When basic concepts begin to no longer make sense and when everything you know just isn't enough to get by. I believe some of you may know this phenomenon as "puberty".
In adolescence, your brain's chemistry changes. If we were to use another hockey metaphor, it's the equivalent to experimenting to find which players work best together to form effective strings. And once you have a good set of strings worked out, your team should flow better. After adolescence, your brain learns how to balance your emotions so that you can function more effectively.
And guess what happens by the end of Inside Out?
If you compare the way Riley's head works compared to the heads of the other characters, you'll see how much more organized the older characters' heads seem. And that's probably what my head looks like now too, and for that I'm grateful. I do not miss how ridiculous and emotional I used to be as a teen.
Overall, I think I had more fun analyzing the movie. The aesthetics and sound are quite pleasing, as par course for Pixar. However, I really do think that the subject matter plays a HUGE factor in recommending this movie.
Would I show it to a kid? Probably. Most of it might go over a kid's head, but you'd be surprised at how perceptive a kid can be. Also, what kid doesn't like things that are vividly colorful and shiny? But would I watch this with other adults? It highly depends on who I'm seeing it with, given its nature. Even though it's an solidly written animated feature, it's still very artsy and meta. I've seen enough college students complain about their psychology, sociology, and intro to fine arts classes to know that not everyone is as open to nerding out over this kind of stuff like some of us are.
(Side-note: I found the emotions all conversing over Riley's observations to be insanely hilarious. The writers totally hit home for these scenes. Personally, I'd like to think my brain's vocal staff consists of Vash the Stampede, Travis Touchdown, Squall Leonhart, Yuusuke Urameshi, and '94 Spider-man. That, or the multiple Style Changed Megaman clones from Ryo Takamisaki's Rockman.EXE manga.)
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