Inside Out (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)
Blu-Ray Reviews | Dec 2nd, 2015
Starring: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan
Written By: Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
Directed By: Pete Docter
Studio: Walt Disney / Pixar
Buy On Amazon.com
Pixar continues to release quality movies with interesting and unique storylines that both children and adults will love. If Inside Out doesn’t win an Oscar this year, I’ll be very surprised.
Inside Out is about a 11 year old girl, Riley and her emotions inside her head. She was happy playing ice hockey in Minnesota and then her Dad got a job in San Francisco. Then Riley starts to get sad after the move and her emotions try to get her through the move. 5 basic emotions control your actions and store them as memories. You have Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. They manage things through a computer console and when Joy and Sadness get lost in Riley’s mind, things get a bit chaotic for Riley and her other emotions.
Everytime I see a Pixar movie, I just have to ask myself where do they get these ideas from? You can tell they took years developing the story for it and fine-tuning it. The idea for the movie is very complicated and hard to write about it but man, does Pixar nail this one. Sure, there are similarities to TV sitcom Herman’s Head and the Epcot Center attraction Cranium Command but this is such a unique story. Pete Docter was an animator on Cranium Command by the way, which I literally just found out. Watching the first 15 minutes you can tell how complex the story is, and how everything has to work.
Sort of glad they finally changing things up by not have things always be boy-focused. Seeing inside the mind of a 11 year old girl could have gone in so many directions. They handle it so well. They added an extra sweetness to the film by having Riley’s imaginary friend Bing Bong show up halfway through the movie. Besides dealing with the emotions of a little girl, the movie shows you that at some point people have to grow up. It’s kind of sad and heartbreaking, and made me a little teary eyed watching it unfold on the screen.
Pixar always seems to get the perfect voice-over talent. Amy Poehler plays Joy very well, and Phyllis Smith as Sadness was great as well. Without even knowing who voiced Sadness going in, I could tell by the voice and the appearance of the character that it was the person from The Office. I thought Lewis Black’s Anger stole all the scenes he was in and had the best lines. Maybe I just can relate to the Anger character the most? Bing Bong voiced by Richard Kind was awesome as well. Between Him and John Ratzenberger, they are the ones that have been featured in the most Pixar movies it seems.
The movie is beautifully animated and the look of the characters are fantastic. Again, can’t imagine how much work and research had to go into creating the landscapes and the worlds of the mind. Michael Giacchino’s brilliant film score helped everything gel together. It definitely delivered ranges of emotions to the viewers at certain times in the film. Once you hear it, you’ll be whistling the melody for days. That guy has been on quite a roll lately with his scores.
The special features for Inside Out’s Blu-Ray include some short films, behind the scenes stuff, deleted scenes, commentary and trailers. Since I’m somewhat of an artist and one of my dreams is to work for Pixar, I always love watching the behind the scenes stuff. I could watch animators & painters draw all day. I literally have done that with the Bob Ross Twitch marathon that happened eventually. There’s featurettes on the women on the movie, coming up with the complex story, mapping out certain things for the mind, sound editing and film editing. Maybe I’m selfish since I recently watched the latest Hobbit Blu-Ray, but wish these were longer and more in-depth.
I loved seeing the Our Dads, the Filmmakers featurette and thought it was too short. The daughters of Pete Docter and Michael Giacchino filmed a documentary about what their Dads do on a daily basis. I would have liked to have seen more of that because it was a different take on the usual behind the scenes stuff. The new short Riley’s First date was really funny. We get to see what’s it like inside the minds of Riley’s parents more with hilarious results. Lava, the short film, was the short that played in front of Inside Out in theaters. It’s basically about a volcano that is singing and looking for another volcano to be with. It’s cute and sweet and all that stuff.
Inside Out is yet another stellar Pixar movie that both adults and children will love. I don’t think children will necessary get everything that happens in this movie right away but there’s lots of colorful things in the movie to look at. I’m sure you’ll be answering hundreds of questions afterwards. Inside Out should win an Academy Award for this and I’m looking forward to the next Pete Docter/Pixar movie because they have been flawless.
Features
All-New Short: Riley’s First Date?
Lava, Short Film
Story of the Story
Paths to Pixar: The Women of “”Inside Out””
Mixed Emotions
Mapping the Mind
Our Dads, The Filmmakers
Into the Unknown: The Sound of “”Inside Out””
The misunderstood Art of Animation Film Editing
Audio
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
English DTS-HD MA 7.1
English DTS-HD MA Stereo
Video
Widescreen 1.78:1 Color
Bottom Line: Another brilliant and flawless Pixar movie
Running Time: 120 mins
Rating: PG
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
