Inside Out

Released:  June 19^th, 2015

Rated:  PG

Distributor:  Walt Disney Studios

Starring:  Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling

Directed by:  Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen

Written by:  Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Pete Docter

Personal Bias Alert:  Not a Pixar devotee, loves Amy Poehler

7.8 of 10

            I believe it was the philosopher Daniel Dennett who said that most people imagine a little man sitting at a desk somewhere between their eyes and their brain who filters their experiences and thoughts.  The parallels between this idea and the setup in Inside Out, which posits that there’s a group of emotions sitting at a control table somewhere between your eyes and your brain who filter your experiences and thoughts, is remarkable.  While Dennett used the setup to explore an entirely different idea, the striking similarity made it difficult for me to take Inside Out as such a novel idea.  Not that novelty is a necessity, but it does add an extra bit of zest to a film, something that might have bumped Inside Out into the upper echelon of family films.  Without that extra pop, it’s relegated to that group of perfectly adequate, well-made attempts that just missed the mark of true greatness.

            Inside Out is the latest from Disney/Pixar, whose recent dip in quality have allowed their competitors to get within reach of their big man on campus status.  Struggling is a relative term, of course, but their recent spate of sequels/prequels (with many more on the way) have fans wondering if they’re struggling to come up with original ideas now that they’ve worked through their napkin movies (if you’re unfamiliar with that tale, read http://www.businessinsider.com/pixar-movies-thanks-to-napkin-sketches-at-lunch-meeting-2014-4).  Still, Pixar continues to be the most narratively ambitious of the major animation studios, here taking on the inner tumult of a preteen, Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), who’s forced to move from Minnesota to San Francisco with her strained family.  While Riley is the focal point of the story, it’s the emotions inside her that are the real main characters.  Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) are all personified as real creatures in her head, and it’s the interactions between these five that control what Riley does.  Hence, we learn about Riley from the inside out (get it?).

            This setup allowed for the Pixar team to invent a visual representation of a person’s mind, which is exactly the sort of task where they separate themselves from the animation pack.  The detailed thought that went into the world building is astounding, as always, giving the impression of a labyrinthine space that’s constantly shifting, held together by only the most tenuous bands.  If ever a more accurate representation of a growing mind existed, then I’m not aware of it.

            The same level of thought went into the character designs of the five emotions, whose outlines and colorations naturally evoke their designated state.  Fear is a lanky, squirrely fellow who seems constantly primed to curl up into a ball on the ground.  Disgust is green with a perpetually disaffected look, and Anger is like a fire red block.  Joy and Sadness, who form the film’s main duo, have the same color hair for a nice visual match, but joy is lighter and literally glows while Sadness is stocky and bundled up.  There’s never any danger of confusing the characters (you could tell them apart by their outlines alone), and it’s a joy (pardon the pun) to watch the detailed differences between the five emotions.

            Where Pixar dropped the ball a bit was in matching this visual execution to an equally inventive plot.  The setup, as previously discussed, isn’t an original as it might seem, and the plot never quite gains a sturdy foothold.  The beginning narration sputters through thick exposition, and the rest of the film never finds a balance between Riley’s outer life and the one inside her head.  The inner life plot feels very episodic and overly long, while Riley’s outer life doesn’t actually follow the rules that the film established for itself.  This creates an emotional rift between Riley and her, well, emotions, so that while each storyline does contains some potentially powerful moments, they don’t work in concert with each other.

            The ambition of this story is admirable, but it also raises the bar for what the film must achieve to be considered truly great.  So while Inside Out is a funny, heartfelt film, its failure to fully capitalize on its premise makes it feel like a bit of a missed shot.  It’s just barely off the mark, but we’ve all seen Pixar hit the bull’s-eye many times, which makes it a bit more disappointing when they don’t.

Other Notes:

Ø  I’ve seen this in 2D and 3D, and the 3D feels like an unnecessary add-on.  Totally not worth it.

Ø  This is some all-around excellent voice casting.

Ø  I never even came close to crying at this one, proving yet again that there’s a black void where my heart should be.

WALL-E

Released:  June 27^th, 2008

Rated:  G

Studio:  Disney/Pixar

Starring:  animated robots, Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin

Directed by:  Andrew Stanton           

Written by:  Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon

Personal Bias Alert:  haven’t seen many silent films, always optimistic about Pixar movies

8.3 of 10

            The G rating for WALL-E may be the most apt thing the MPAA has ever done.  This innocuously sweet story of robot puppy love is something everyone can get behind, and by combining it with gorgeous animation and some sly societal critiques, it becomes a film that will enchant nearly every filmgoer imaginable.

            WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth class) is the last trash collecting machine still in operation, whiling away his days sorting through the remnants of humanity and saving the oddities that pique his interest.  Humans have long since left, having decimated Earth due to the poor environmental practices encouraged by the mega-corporation Buy ‘n’ Large.  It’s a lonely life, and Wall-e finds himself enamored with the idea of finding a companion, a lover insomuch as he understands the term.  The opportunity presents itself when a robot probe named EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) arrives to scour Earth for signs of life.  At first, she ignores Wall-e’s advances, but softens after seeing the collection of human interest trinkets that Wall-e has stashed in his home.  Unfortunately, Wall-e’s stash also includes a living plant, the site of which sends Eve into a hibernating state until she can report back home.

            This takes us to the thirty minute mark in the movie, in which the only dialogue has been a video billboard and a brief, beeping exchange between Wall-e and Eve.  I suppose this shouldn’t be surprising, the movie does star robots, after all, but we’ve come to expect kids movies to be frantic, loud things nowadays.  There’s still a clear plotline thanks to some extraordinarily detailed animation from Pixar.  I know it’s not news to point out that Pixar is the leader of the pack when it comes to animation, but they’ve really outdone themselves here.  It’s a double feat they’ve pulled off, first in figuring out how to animate precise body language to tell a visual story (they reportedly watched Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton movies to prep themselves) and second to translate that body language onto robots.  The fact that Wall-e and Eve are thoroughly robotic while having so many recognizably human qualities is the most remarkable thing about this movie.

            Then you have the rest of the animation, which appears almost film-like during Wall-e’s time on Earth.  There’s an extraordinary depth to the backgrounds, seemingly endless expanses of a crumbling civilization, with dust and debris blowing gently about.  The most striking part, though, is the way the animators simulated the lighting.  It’s grand in an unnaturalistic, staged sort of way.  It doesn’t surprise me to read that cinematographer extraordinaire Roger Deakins consulted on this film.  It has his elegant, stylish lighting down pat.  My wow moment was when Eve bombs a wrecked boat, the scene pulling back into a wide shot to show the billowing explosion illuminating the night.  Notice the light flickering on the surrounding debris.  Extraordinary.

            As good as it all looks, WALL-E would be nothing more than a meaningless exercise without a good story behind it, and the romance between Wall-e and Eve gives it a solid core.  It’s a sweet, innocent thing that Wall-e learned from watching a scene in 1969’s Hello, Dolly!, the culmination of which is a gentle interlocking of hands.  Throughout the movie, Wall-e attempts to recreate the moment with little success.  There’s a longing there in that outstretched hand that anyone old enough to follow a story can understand, no matter what the hand is made of.

            The problem comes when the humans appear.  It’s not bad per say, just not as charming as the robot’s story.  It does feels a bit tacked on, like somewhere along the line it was determined that humans had to make an appearance.  But really, if they thought audiences couldn’t handle a film without a human story, what made them think we would sit through the first half hour of this film?

            What the middle section lacks in charm is partially made up for by some biting commentary.  Humans have become essentially immobile, relying entirely on robots to do everything for them.  The robots are, of course, made by the megacorporation Buy ‘n’ Large, the same corporation that made the spaceship they’re cruising on and essentially controls their lives.  It’s an oddly dim view of humanity’s future; we’ve become like docile cattle, happily doing whatever Buy ‘n’ Large wants.  In a way, it reminded me of a cartoon I used to watch as a kid called Invader Zim.  Zim is more overtly dark than WALL-E, but a similar contempt for humanity’s current path runs through both.

            I wish WALL-E had stuck to its guns and found a way to tell Eve and Wall-e’s story alone.  The movie’s vibrant when it focuses on their relationship, leaving the rest feeling dull and tepid in comparison.  Still, that tender portrait of puppy love is hard to resist.

            Other Notes: 

Ø  The spork joke made me laugh out loud.

Ø  Great work yet again by composer Thomas Newman.

Ø  How are the babies getting made?  I don’t think the humans have the energy to do the deed.

Ø  Let’s not get into the inherent creepiness of Wall-e taking Eve on dates while she’s essentially unconscious.

Ø  Who has a better stash, Wall-e or Ariel from The Little Mermaid?