Inside Out Review – Fantastic, Thoughtful, Fun!

Inside Out is both awesome and unique.

It’s an animated film without princesses, wicked step-mothers, or villains.

It doesn’t have a good vs evil theme. There’s no fighting. No gore. No profanity.

Sounds boring, right? But it’s absolutely not!

Inside Out is wildly entertaining for both kids and adults. It’s funny and thought provoking.

From the story, to the characters, to the artwork, Inside Out is simply fantastic.

Through rated PG, I’d say the movie is appropriate for all ages. It is quite sad in some parts. The fading away of one character may be disturbing to some young children if they realize what is happening, but it is done and over with fairly quickly and the story moves on.

Inside Out is excellent for the pre-teen set and their parents.

It takes place mostly inside the head of an 11 year old girl. Her emotions are the main characters. They are in charge, and they are young and impulsive. They have not yet learned how to work together as a team.

Surprising me, my 12 year old daughter got the point of the movie without even realizing it. After the movie, she remarked “in the adult minds, the emotions weren’t as distinct – Joy wasn’t super-happy, Sadness wasn’t ‘super-sad.” She was right. The emotions in the adults weren’t struggling for dominance and attention. They worked together (mostly). There were more like a committee. They had matured.

Inside Out is a movie that sticks with you. It’s so imaginative and creative, and at the same time, it makes sense.

For parents and pre-teens, it brings back memories of earlier times. And you’ll find yourselves identifying which character is in charge at any given (real-life) emotional moment. It makes for an instant inside joke when one suddenly appears and is identified.

And now we also know why that jingle keeps popping into our minds!

Inside Out is a winner.

It’ll be even more so when it comes out on DVD – because it is easily watchable again and again, and both parents and kids will love it.

As for the short film that precedes Inside Out… well, it’s entertaining, but a bit long.

Called “Lava”, it’s the story of a lonely volcano. I was surprised afterwards to find that it’s only seven minutes long. It seems longer. It’s sweet, but a bit odd. I mention it here so that you know your in the right theater when it seems you’re watching a totally different movie. I know I was starting to wonder!

Have you seen Inside Out?

What did you think of it?

Leave your comments below!