Every time a new animated
film is released there is always the hope that it will be another Up or How To
Train Your Dragon. Unfortunately, more often than not, animation
fails to live up to the hype. With
Disney Pixar expectations are always high and after a ridiculously entertaining
trailer Inside Out had the potential to go all the way.
PLOT: After her family move from Minnesota to San Francisco
Riley’s emotions try to keep her spirits high. Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness
(Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy
Kaling) try to keep life ticking over as normal but they find it difficult to
agree on how to do this. END PLOT.
My inability to write a decent
synopsis for the plot aside, the concept of Inside Out is clever and created
one of the most original films I’ve seen in some time. Riley’s emotions being the main characters
made the film stand out as something quite unique. The individual lands inside Riley’s mind, the
thought train and labyrinth of long term memories were neat ideas that played
out well for the most part and it goes without saying that the animation was
gorgeous.
It was great fun to see the differing
personalities of the emotions react to each situation and Inside Out really
came to life when they were all on screen together. However, the emotions lacked subtlety with Sadness
being fat and frumpy, Joy being skinny and beautiful, Fear being overly
neurotic and Disgust being bratty but they were being played to extremes so it
just about worked. Just.
The themes and humour were
quite adult in tone and although this suited me perfectly it meant that Bing Bong,
a candyfloss elephant, was shoehorned in to appeal to the younger viewers. I appreciate that I was not the target
audience for the character but from a storytelling point of view he added
nothing to the film and almost took away all of my interest in it. The entire middle section moved at a snail’s
pace as Joy and Sadness tried to find their way back to Headquarters with the
help of Bing Bong. It made the film feel
much, much longer than the 90min running time.
I. Hate. Everything. About. This. Character.
Despite the fantastic
concept Inside Out fell below my expectations.
I enjoyed it and I wouldn’t be surprised if I see it a second time
before its run in the cinema ends but I have no love for it. It didn’t stir something in me like How To
Train Your Dragon and the emotional core wasn’t in the same league as Up. Inside Out gets 6/10 – a respectable score
for a Summer Season release but for Disney Pixar it is poor.
I slightly liked it more than you, but I agree that a fantastic concept wasn't executed as well as it should have. Plus I didn't hate Bing Bong nearly as much as you :)
ReplyDeleteThe concept was so clever I just wanted a bit more from it.
DeleteOoh, I hated Bing Bong. I have decided they kept it out of the trailer as they knew just how crappy a character it was! Awful!
K :-)
Ah it's too bad it didn't hit with you. It really hit me hard for some reason, Bing Bong I disliked at first but left me sucking up tears by the end.....
ReplyDeleteLoved the concept and it was a gorgeous film. I just thought the middle section (which mostly contained Bing Bong) really dragged! It's probably going to be the best animated film of 2015 and I can't argue against that
DeleteK :-)