I hadn't gone to a movie theater in six years, until this month when I finally went to see Inside Out. A blogger I respect gave it a great review, and something about the premise just reached out and grabbed me, so I took the chance.
It was a touching, even life-changing experience. I've gone back to see it four more times since then. Every time I laugh, cry, and find something else to love about it. This movie is a psychological journey, a buddy comedy, a thrill ride, and a farewell to innocence all rolled into one. The music and animation are great, the voice acting is uniformly astounding, and the main message of the film--that dealing with pain and sadness in our lives is essential to personal development--is a good one. For anyone who is sick and tired of being expected to smile and and act happy when they're not, this message will resonate.
Personifying the emotions is nothing new in literature or film. The originality lies not in the concept itself, but the execution, and that is where the movie truly shines. After seeing a few comparisons to Herman's Head (mostly by those who hadn't seen the movie yet), I sat down and watched an episode for myself--and I have to say, there's no comparison. Inside Out takes place in a brilliantly written and detailed inner world that took six years to develop; Herman's Head is a dull sitcom where four "sides" of the title character's personality kind of stand around and argue in the basement of his mind while he goes through his day. There are worse ways to kill a half hour, but it's no Inside Out.
This one's going down as one of my favorite films of all time.
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RAADS-R SCORE:
163.0FUNNY DEATH METAL LYRICS OF THE WEEK: 'DEMON'S WIND' BY VADER
Clammy frog descends
Demon's wind, the stars answer your desire
Join the undead, that's the place you'll never leave
You wanna die...
but death cannot do us apart...