Inside Out (spoilers)

This is full on Pixar back at the top of their game. I'm not ready to say it's their best, because the Incredibles exists, so that would be a foolish statement, but it's easily the best since Wall-E, maybe even better.

The amount of subtle setups and payoffs all over the place, the amount of awesome throwaway clever ideas, the lack of pandering to children. The movie doesn't dumb itself down, and in fact probably plays better to adults (or teens) than to kids.

Also, I'm on record as really not being into Giacchino, but his score for this movie is absolutely terrific. I guess Pixar brings out the best in him.

Not really much more to be said, saw it last night and it exceeded my wildest dreams.

Which weren't high, to be honest. With Pixar's recent string, and the trailers that just REALLY weren't doing anything for me (The concept was amazing, but what the trailers were showing just weren't anything to get hyped up over) I fully expected another mediocre note in a dying song.

But wow, this movie. Like whoah dude, man, this movie. I never in my life would have thought A) Pixar would make a movie about an 11 year old girl getting depressed and running away from home, and B) That it would make me laugh out loud in a theatre more than any movie I have ever seen in a theatre in my life and then turn around and gut punch me right in the childhood. I mean...what? Why? How?? WHAA? Not cool Pixar, so not cool. I was totally not prepared for that.

So yeah, enough on that, can we talk for a second here about that short? Lava?

Was I the only one SERIOUSLY underwhelmed by it? Probably my least favorite pixar short to date, almost verging on just straight up un-enjoyable.

The song was one note and grating to have to listen to for more than 5 seconds, and the entire thing was based on a SERIOUSLY bad pun? I mean, really guys? That's what you're doing? Uuuugh, fine.

I mean it was gorgeous...ish...the design of the two volcanoes were...uh...well...good...try...uh guys. Solid attempt. *thumbs up* I was about the say that all of the animation and rendering and everything was great as well, but even then the opening couple shots flying over the volcano were gorgeous but then it just...stopped doing that. And then the rest felt really bizarrely flat and kinda half measured.

Maybe I just really wasn't in the mood for it or something, but it just really wasn't making it work for me.

I didn't Lava it either.  The longer it went on, the more I was really hoping there'd be a hell of a payoff that would make it worthwhile, but... no.  Pretty pictures, tho.

Inside Out, on the other hand... lava lava lava.  All the lava.

There was one about a sheep that had a whole ballad poem over it. And it's pretty good.

I think this film is a true mixed bag. There's a lot that's beautifully truthful and heartfelt, but there's also a lot that's cliche and regressive too. Not the worst Pixar film, but it feels more like a distant echo of their best work than a true return to form.

And Lava is, excuse the pun, hot garbage.

I noticed your tweets on the same, I'm curious as to which aspects you single out as regressive?

It's not a major aspect of the film, but its gender politics are bizarrely old-fashioned, especially for Pixar. The main thing I'm talking about is that scene where you see inside the parents' heads and it's all "Oh dad's a dunce who only thinks about sports! Mom's exasperated with her dumb husband and fantasizes about hot South American men!" Like, what year was this written?

Honestly I think that's really unfair. Throughout the movie the dad is smart, fun, and also stressed and worried about his family. So one time he's at dinner and he's thinking about sports. Like really, people do that. Lots of people do that. And this particular guy also does that once.

As for the mom, to be honest I thought it was kind of a nice subversion that she was the one occasionally thinking about another guy. Usually the men are the lust-wandering jerks. But here Pixar took two people who obviously care very deeply about each other and their daughter and showed them at their best and at their worst.
Lots of men occasionally lapse into thinking about sports at the dinner table.
Lots of women wonder what life would have been like with another guy.
And vice versa on everything.

The movie didn't come remotely close to "dad ONLY thinks about sports" or "mum thinks her husband is dumb and thinks about south american men". It just said hey, sometimes dad thinks about sports or work or the awful moving van company and gets distracted. Mum sometimes thinks dad is dumb and wonders if she could have done better with that ONE GUY she met. It happens.

Stupid fathers and husbands as a stereotype bugs me as a husband, but I thought this movie had a great balance of loving, flawed people.

Last edited by Writhyn (2015-06-29 17:06:30)

Another minor, but nifty, choice is that Riley's fave activity is hockey - not the first thing one might think of for a pre-teen girl to be obsessing about.     I also like that they don't make a "thing" of that, it just is.