Opinion: A decade of Inside Out - Why Pixar's and Disney's emotional masterpiece still resonates today
It's hard to believe it's been a decade since Pixar and Disney released its blockbuster movie Inside Out.
The Academy Award winner has grossed over $858 million worldwide, with the sequel earning more than $1.69 billion globally. With that in mind, it's clear that this movie has moved many people, including me. And it's no surprise why.
Released in June 2015 and directed by Pete Docter, the movie tells a story about an 11-year-old Riley who is struggling with significant life changes after moving to a different city.
Most of the film takes place inside Riley's mind, where five personified emotions, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, guide her thoughts and actions. In order to create such complex characters, the movie creators have consulted with neuroscientists, and that really shows.
Led by joy for most of her life, Riley starts feeling a mix of emotions after major life changes, which is why emotions like Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust come to the surface.
After Joy's intense effort to make Riley feel only happiness and not let Sadness and other emotions take the wheel, she realises that different emotions are a vital part of Riley's life, especially as she is becoming older.
What makes Inside Out so unique is its original approach to visualising human emotions. The film takes the abstract concept of emotions and gives them shape and personality. They are shown not only in Riley's mind but also in the minds of other characters like her parents, friends, and even a cat.
This creative portrayal is one of the reasons why people in psychology consider it one of the best films for discussing emotions. It tackles the complex topic of feelings through colourful, engaging characters that make the subject more accessible.
Jennifer Gledhill, the Deputy Editor of The Psychologist, has written for her magazine about the Internal Family Systems model: "It holds the view that the mind is made up of subpersonalities, each with its own unique viewpoint and qualities. We describe them as a family of parts each trying to do their best to keep us ok. When I initially explain this, I often refer to the Inside Out movies."
The movie also shows that there has to be a balance in all your emotions, and all of them are necessary to live a quality life. By the end of the movie, the viewers see Riley's memories being created with a mix of emotions, like happiness and Sadness or fear and Disgust.
Another thing that this movie does brilliantly is show that letting go of the important memories of the past is an integral part of growing up.
With Bing Bong, Riley's childhood imaginary friend, realising that his memory is disappearing, he sacrifices himself to save Riley's Joy so she can return to the Headquarters. It is one of the reasons why Joy realises that Riley is growing up, slowly leaving her childhood activities behind.
The message of the film is clear: all emotions are important and have an essential role to play. Feeling not only joyous emotions and letting go of your memories is a natural and important part of life.
Inside Out illustrates how emotions can work together, showing that they play a key role in shaping personality and helping people navigate the world. No wonder it is considered one of the best animated movies about human emotions, a decade later.