Inside Out

Rating: 5/5

In what is probably one of their most innovative ventures, Inside Out continues Pixar's reign of children's movies that appeal to young and old alike.

Meet Joy (Amy Poehler) , the first feeling that 11 year old Riley ever had as a baby. Joy is in charge of making sure all of Riley's emotions stay in check so that Riley can live the best life ever. Along with Joy are Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) . Together, they bring emotion into Riley's life and help her make choices and memories. When Riley finds out that her family is moving, Sadness begins to take over the Headquarters of her mind. Trying to help, Sadness accidentally sends Riley's core memories out of Headquarters, and Joy and Sadness must set out on an adventure into the depths of Riley's mind in order to retrieve them and restore the balance.

All Pixar movies are beautifully animated and tell a story that more often than not will make you cry, but Inside Out may be their most creative film to date. For one, the animation seems to have gone to a whole new level of detail, making the depictions of Riley's emotions have a subtle glow to them. Even though Pixar has made numerous films since this one, and their technology has surely advanced, I still find the look of Inside Out hard to beat. Whether it's from the highly realistic look of Riley as a newborn or the changing animation when Joy and Sadness go through "Abstract Thought", it is all just absolutely astounding.

The plot for Inside Out is incredibly clever. The different places that Joy and Sadness travel inside Riley's head are so ingenious that no matter how many times I watch this movie, I will still be in awe of the thought put into the story. A scene that sticks out to me as an example of the movie's brilliance is when Joy and Sadness go to the production studio of Riley's dreams. As someone who is always drawn to any part of a film or show where the characters find themselves in a movie studio of sorts, I was very much amused and entertained by this scene. It is one where I paused the film many times, to try and see all the extra details one might miss if they were only focused on the main characters. If you haven't seen the movie yet, keep that part in mind, because its' great!

Each voice that was cast for the individual emotions were spot on. I had never put much thought into what the voice of a specific emotion would sound like, but clearly the creators of the film did, and they knew exactly what they were looking for. Amy Poehler makes her vocals match her characters personality by speaking in a pitch higher than her normal voice and puts an incredible amount of energy into it. Phyllis Smith's monotone way of speaking makes Sadness one of the most instantly recognizable voices in the film, and the contrast between her voice and Joy's makes for some of the more comical scenes in the movie.

I love all work done by Pixar, but Inside Out has been a favorite of mine ever since I first watched it. As with most films made by the studio, not only are they entertaining, but they can also be quite touching and emotional. Though most Pixar films tend to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, not all may be as deserving as this. I whole heartedly agree with this being the winner for 2016, as it is a truly special film.

2016-Best Animated Feature Winner- Inside Out