Inside "Inside Out"

So, on Monday, I got a text from Jennifer.  She asked me if I wanted to go see Pixar's new movie "Inside Out" on Tuesday (yesterday).

Now, we had worked out the first half of the week already with meals and such, and so I was surprised she wanted to go see a movie.  She called me and said that she had been looking at possible movies for the weekend, and there had been a Google banner ad about an insider look at "Inside Out".  She clicked on it and followed the path until she got to buy the tickets.

So last night we walked to AMC in Emeryville, less than a mile from where the movie had been made.  We got out tickets and when the ticket taker let us in, he gave us mini-posters and matching lanyard with tags.

Now, Jennifer has been very accommodating with my... movie going fixations over the years; however,  they tend to pay off.  If I'm not at the theater early, I get, I don't know, antsy, I guess.  I have a little part of me that wants to get the best seat, so I like to be there in time to be as close to first as possible.  Last night we were not the first in, but we got great seats: dead center on the row, and the back row of the front section of seats.

There were bits of trivia for the movie running, and some made sense and some didn't until after seeing it.  And the movie itself was great.

The story is engrossing and touched a big nerve as it's about a little girl who has to leave her friends and everything she knows behind to move to San Francisco.  And then things that happen outside and inside shape and reflect the other.  The two scenes that resonated most with me were the scene where she has to stand up in front of the class and introduce herself, and the resolution at the end.

One of the things that makes the movie visually compelling is that the two worlds are rendered in different fashions.  The "real world" is done in a pretty realistic fashion, but still keeps away from the uncanny valley.  The inside world is cartoon-ish and more symbolic.

The five voices used for the emotions are well chosen, and my favorite is Lewis Black.  When Robin Williams was chosen for "Aladdin", we all wondered how many outtakes of curse words there must have been.  We can now wonder the same thing with Lewis Black, but Pixar took that into account on many occasions.

You don't have to be a parent, or a girl to enjoy this movie, because it's not just about those things.  It's all about the journey.