Inside Out is a gem of a film, destined to take its place in the pantheon of Pixar classics. I won’t go into too much detail about the story, because as Elijah Davidson pointed out in his review, you will have a much richer experience watching Pete Docter’s latest film without knowing very many details of the plot. I will only say that if you watch it with an open heart and an open mind (no pun intended), you may be surprised at the emotions it stirs up within yourself.
Inside Out gives us a glimpse inside the mind of Riley, an 11-year-old girl voiced by newcomer Kaitlyn Dias. We meet several of her emotions within the headquarters of her mind as they each vie to express themselves by controlling Riley’s reactions to different events. A wide range of emotions are represented: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).
We see early on that Joy has been the dominant emotion in Riley’s mind up to this point in her young life. The other emotions occasionally have moments of primacy, but Joy continually reins them in, hoping to prevent Riley from completely giving in to any of them. However, Sadness proves especially difficult for Joy to manage. Joy goes to great lengths to keep Sadness from exerting any influence over Riley, even drawing a circle around Sadness and telling her to keep all of the sadness inside that circle.
As things take a turn for the worse in Riley’s life, Joy is frustrated that Sadness is slowly able to exert more and more influence over Riley. For reasons I won’t spoil, Joy and Sadness are both eventually flung out of headquarters and into the deep, unfamiliar parts of Riley’s mind.
This journey into the far reaches of Riley’s mind is one of the most unique and interesting portions of Inside Out. The creativity with which the team at Pixar depicted such concepts as abstract thought, dreams, and imagination has been praised by child psychiatrists and neuroscientists for being quite accurate. They recommend Inside Out as a powerful conversation tool to help kids understand and process their own emotions in a healthy way. It can also help them to better understand how their own memories contribute to aspects of their personality which can change over time.
One of the most moving scenes in Inside Out occurs during this middle act of the film. One of the characters whom Joy and Sadness meet during their journey through Riley’s mind is Bing Bong (Richard Kind). He is realizing that his days as Riley’s imaginary friend are numbered. This devastates him to the point where he cannot move forward with them but simply plops down on the ground and starts crying (his tears are made of candy). Joy tries to aggressively brush aside his sadness, but that doesn’t work. In a touching moment, Sadness sits down and simply empathizes with Bing Bong, crying along with him until he is ready to move on.
There is profound wisdom in this scene. Sadness embodies the words of Qoheleth in Ecclesiastes, that there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” (For more on reading Ecclesiastes through the lens of contemporary film, check out Rob Johnston’s work Useless Beauty.) Sometimes, people experiencing deep pain don’t need someone to try to cheer them up. They might just need to be sad for a while.
Joy has its time and place to be sure, but it is simply not possible (or healthy) for someone to be happy all of the time. Joy and sadness go hand in hand, and both of them can play a part in shaping our memories. Not only can sadness help us to process what has happened to us, but it can also help us to grow from it. This fact is reinforced in the film. Once Riley is able to fully allow sadness to affect her, she is then able to grow emotionally.
Inside Out teaches us that there is beauty in sadness as well as joy. Some of the greatest experiences of our lives may be remembered with both joy and sadness. Christianity is largely dependent on responding to the intense sorrows of this life with intense joy – while still acknowledging and embracing sorrow rather than trying to discount it.
Oddly enough, the image of Bing Bong’s candy tears is one of the most theologically rich images in all of Inside Out. It’s a powerful representation of joy in the midst of sadness, and one which I will not soon forget.
One more thing: The animated short Lava precedes Inside Out, and it pairs quite well with the film. A simple story told through a Hawaiian-style ukulele medley, it packs its own emotional punch to prepare the audience for the emotional journey of Inside Out. It’s an enjoyable short film with a catchy tune that you’ll probably remember even longer than Inside Out‘s recurring “Triple Dent Gum” advertising jingle.
You might also find these reviews of Inside Out helpful:
Christianity Today
Decent Films
Hollywood Jesus 1
Hollywood Jesus 2
Larsen on Film
Looking Closer
Reel Gospel
Reel World Theology
Think Christian
