Movies: Inside Out

It's no secret that Pixar's been in a funk lately, spurning original ideas in favor of half-baked sequels (e.g., "Cars 2"). As such, it was a good sign that their newest film, "Inside Out," bore no resemblance to anything they had ever done:


"Inside Out" portrays the emotions of eleven year-old Riley - joy, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust - as she moves cross-country to San Francisco. The move and the stress associated with a new home cause big changes for Riley, and it's up to her emotions to keep her happy...or so it seems.

Being a child of the '90s, I thought this movie would basically be an updated version of "Herman's Head" - bickering and bantering between funny emotions (voiced by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, and Bill Hader), awkward situations for Riley to get caught up in, and everything ending happily ever after. Instead, "Inside Out" gave me a very mature take on human emotion, especially for a "kid's" movie. If you're tired of the messages that a lot of movies send - that tragedy is an obstacle to overcome, rather than a part of life - you should probably see this one.

Rating: 8/10