About.com Rating

Bottom Line:  Inside Out is an outstanding, entertaining family movie that is filled with warmth and humor and can be enjoyed by all ages. 

MPAA Rating:  PG for mild thematic elements and some action
Genre:  Animation, Comedy, Family
Runtime:  102 minutes
Cast:  Diane Lane, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Kyle MacLachlan, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Kaitlyn Dias
Studio:  Walt Disney Studios
Director:  Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen 
Release Date:  June 19, 2015

Inside Out – Overview

Eleven-year-old Riley loves hockey, silliness, good friends, and her family.  The mechanical workings of her mind are controlled by Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and they help to keep her life and emotions on track.  However, when Riley’s dad (Kyle MacLachlan) takes a new job in San Francisco, Riley and her parents leave the Mid-west and all that Riley has known.

No backyard, a house that is in need of repair, a missing moving van, and, gasp, broccoli on pizza all challenge Riley and her emotions, but effervescent Joy works hard to keep the positive, happy attitude going.  Mom compliments Riley on her adaptability, but the first day in a new school is just too overwhelming.  As her emotions argue as to how to deal with the new environment, Riley cries as she reminisces about her old life in Minnesota.  Things go from bad to worse as Joy and Sadness are sucked up into Long-Term Memory with Riley’s core memories.

  Now, Riley’s mind and actions are controlled by Anger, Fear, and Disgust.

Joy and Sadness struggle to return to Headquarters because Riley cannot be happy without Joy.  Riley’s islands of personality suffer as she struggles to maintain her relationship with friends back home, and her confidence in her hockey abilities and herself quickly breaks down.  Joy and Sadness are not without problems of their own as they traipse through Long-Term Memory, Imagination Land, Abstract Thought and Dream Productions in an attempt to catch the Train of Thought to return to Headquarters.

Along the way, they meet a cast of characters from Riley’s past and her imagination.  As they work together to save Riley, Joy and Sadness also must learn to work together to save themselves.

Inside Out – Review and Information for Parents

Inside Out is the best animated movie I have seen since Toy Story 3.  Aside from the creative and entertaining plot-line, the humor, pacing, and visual effects keep that audience’s interest and will be enjoyed by audience members of all ages.  The beauty of the plot-line is its appeal to all ages on many different levels.  Just as a memory of favorite event is recalled in different ways depending when in a person’s life he remembers it, Riley’s struggles and emotional memories can be appreciated at different stages as well.  The universal themes of growing up are presented in perfect pacing that engages the audiences and maintains their attention.

Inside Out creates a great opportunity for parents with younger audience members to talk about the abstract concepts of emotion by creating a tangible, realistic personification of emotional characters.  When younger children struggle with trying to express how they feel, providing a concrete character might help them to label for how they are feeling and give them a way to express themselves with less frustration. 

I saw this film with my 16-year-old son who appreciated it on a much different level. He was able to see the humor in the characterized emotions and remember how he struggled with expressing his feelings with the wisdom of someone who has moved on from that stage in life.  Tweens and teens can both relate to Riley’s struggles and understand her conflicting emotions.  As an animated film, challenging emotions and difficult discussion topics are presented in a safe, non-threatening manner and provide the opportunity to open dialogue with your tween or teen.

The conflict between Joy and Sadness is a great theme to discuss at any age.  Sadness makes mistakes in the film and this rings true in real life.  Discuss with your child how different emotions affect the decisions that we make and which emotions help to guide better choices.  At one point, Sadness states that “crying helps me slow down.”  All the emotions – Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Anger – have a part in our lives.  Children, tweens, and teens can understand that it is okay to have these conflicting feelings and they need to be acknowledged.  When her emotions seem to overpower her entire life, Riley lashes out and says, “stop saying everything will be all right!”  As parents we often want to fix the things that are wrong in our children’s lives, but unfortunately not everything can be fixed.  Helping our children realize that there are difficult and challenging points in our lives and understanding the emotions that accompany these moments can help them find the coping strategies that work for them.  Sometimes Sadness is needed to help find Joy.

Despite the seriousness of emotions, the film is filled with humor and warmth.  There are many creative explanations as to where our dreams come from, how déjà vu is created, and why we remember funny songs and sayings that will entertain all ages.  The scene during the final credits will leave you smiling and laughing as you leave the theater, so make sure you stick around for it.

Inside Out - Content Overview

Violence (Mild):  There is mild arguing between characters and some hockey playing violence.

Scary Scenes (Medium):  Although the creation of dreams is told in a creative way, the actual dreams might be scary for some younger viewers.  Nightmares are the personification of feelings and some of our darkest fears – being alone, scary noises, and clowns – are shown.

Sex/Nudity (Mild):  An animated character’s naked bottom is seen as a child.  Puberty is mentioned.

Drugs and Alcohol (None): None.

Language (None):  No actual profanity is used, but a character alludes to appropriate times to use a curse word. 

Disrespectful/ Imitative Behavior (Medium):  A character considers running away and steals from a parent.  A character is rude to her parents and unkind to her friends

Sad/ Unsettling Scenes (Mild):  The fear of the unknown as Joy and Sadness are swept into Long-Term Memory may be unsettling.  A favorite toy is lost.  The sadness a character feels due to moving is evident in her words and actions.

Movie Topics Kids Might Have Questions About:  emotions, long-term memories, moving, imagination, déjà vu, abstract thoughts, puberty

If you enjoyed Inside Out, here are some other films you may life as well:  Up, the Toy Story films, and Cars.

Look here for some fun activity pages based on the film Inside Out.

Check out what a teen thinks of Inside Out.

Interested in the backstory of how Inside out was conceived?  Check out our interview with Director Pete Docter and Producer Jonas Rivera.