MOVIE REVIEW
MOVIE REVIEW
LOOKING
INSIDE AND OUT
–
MOVIE
REVIEW
“IT’S FOLLY TO THINK YOU CAN AVOID CHANGE, NO MATTER HOW
MUCH YOU MIGHT WANT TO. BUT ALSO TO MIND, YOU SHOULDN’T
WANT TO. THERE IS NO GROWTH OR SUCCESS WITHOUT CHANGE.”
ED CAMEL, PRESIDENT OF PIXAR IN HIS BOOK CREATIVITY INC.
RONIT CHAYA JANET
TO SAY
“Joy” instead of “Happiness.” Ultimately, joy is just one
element of happiness, and happiness can be tinged with
other emotions, even including sadness.
that these wise words entered my
mind when I recently saw the latest Pixar/ Disney release
Inside Out, would be a slight exaggeration. I was much
more focused on the price of popcorn and Coke.
Lesson 2 – Making a space for each emotion.
My six year old still talks about when she is angry she
has Red fire coming out of her head – it certainly helps
that she is a redhead. By giving each emotion a
personality and a character, it helps children create a
vocabulary for their emotions. This is certainly helpful in
getting kids to identify what they feel and how to handle
it. The movie subtly warns parents against telling their
children what and how to feel as well.
But that being said, as soon as the lights dimmed and we
slowly munched away, my children and I were
transported into a whole new world in the traditional
Disney style. But Inside Out had no princess and no wild
adventure – except the adventures inside our minds.
In this new release, it is reaffirmed that growing up can be a
bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley our main
character, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her
father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley
is guided by her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and
Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control
centre inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her
through everyday life. This control centre is, interestingly
enough, designed in the same shape as the hypothalamus –
the cognitive centre of the mind. Each emotion is beautifully illustrated and caricatured to depict colourfully and
creatively the roles that our emotions play in our daily lives.
As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in
San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although
Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep
things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate
a new city, house and school. And when Joy and Sadness
are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind,
this is where the adventure begins and life lessons for both
parents and children can be learnt.
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Lesson 1 – It’s ok to be sad.
This was one of the strongest messages that I found in
the movie. Joy works frenetically hard to ensure that
Riley is always feeling happy. Joy even