- davidahallnum5
Inside Out 3D Blu-ray Review
MOVIE REVIEW
Inside Out is a 2015 Pixar animated film about the inner workings of the mind of 11-year-old Riley. In this movie, we follow the actual personifications of Riley's emotions, Joy (Amy Poehler basically reprising her role as Leslie from Parks and Recreation), Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust as they try to help Riley navigate her family moving from comfy Minnesota to San Francisco (why anyone would do that is beyond me). Joy, being as naturally enthusiastic as she is, is the one in charge and does everything in her power to cheer Riley up. However, in her attempts to keep Sadness away from the main control panel, Joy accidentally gets Sadness and herself sent out of headquarters and into the enormous maze of Riley's mind. To get back, they must both navigate the likes of places such as Long-Term Memory, Imagination Land, and Dream Productions. And along the way, Joy and Sadness might learn a thing or two about each other and their place in Riley's mind.
We look back on Inside Out pretty fondly now. But I think we all forget that when this film came out, it was at a time when something revolutionary was needed from Pixar. Up until Inside Out, the last true great movie from the studio was Toy Story 3. After that, we got the abysmal Cars 2 which not only shocked the world with the idea that Pixar could create an objectively bad movie, but also threw off Pixar as a creative brand. Their next two features, Brave and Monsters University did help get the studio back on track, to a degree, but it didn't help it reach the same momentum it had going before, from a critical and audience perspective. That was until Inside Out, which was not only incredibly inventive and fun, but also one of the most emotionally resonant films in their catalogue. This was the film that gained everyone's trust in Pixar again. While you could argue about what state Pixar is in now (personally, I think it's still trying to put out some good material, but corporate Disney is bogging down their brand), there's no denying that for the four year slog that was 2011-2015, Inside Out was the light at the tunnel that proved Pixar still had it in them to be the cream of the crop in the field of animated storytelling.
Ignoring the idea the movie presents that's probably on accident, that being that people don't actually have control over their emotions and that they're simply being controlled by little people within your head, Inside Out is objectively one of Pixar's most creative films, standing toe to toe with their best works. Part of what makes it stand out in people's mind is probably the fact that now, rather than instead of just stirring up your emotions, it creates a story about the emotions themselves. But the things is, it's good. In fact, that's an understatement. It's ingenious. It doesn't just play around with the idea of the emotions being personified. It delves into the mechanics of the human brain in a way I haven't seen in any other way. And despite a few points worthy of discussion, Inside Out doesn't make itself all that artsy. Its ideas and clever creative choices are very well thought out, creating an entire realm inside of Riley's head that feels perfectly functional and inventive while also managing to stay resonant with our own understanding of the mind. It honestly turns the brain into a mysterious wonderland that feels more vibrant and engaging than the world outside of it. But then again, that's the magic of Pixar: turning something mundane into an enthralling adventure.
I could talk about the concepts that I found fun and intriguing. But I'd honestly be here all day. So rather than gushing about how creative the film is, I'll move onto how Inside Out services as a film, you know, characters and story-wise. And this is where I'm sure many people found themselves surprised at Pixar after arguably 4 years of mediocrity, because Inside Out is about as well-executed as a film of this caliber can be. As for as characters go, our protagonists, the emotions, are all very likable and well-written. Joy and Sadness, in particular, are surprisingly dynamic despite literally being Joy and Sadness. Yes, you would expect Joy to be the perpetually optimistic one even in situations where she doesn't seem needed. But she has genuine motivations and learns over the course of the story to evaluate those motivations and see if maybe being joyful all the time is really the healthiest thing. Sadness is, as you'd think, pretty droopy. But droopiness here doesn't mean there can't be any sort of empathy or, dare I say, joy. Yeah, the thought of the emotions having emotions within themselves is something many people have brought up over the years. But I'm sure no one lets it distract them from the story. I certainly wasn't distracted by it. If anything, I think a more noteworthy point to make would be how the emotions within Riley's head have more personality than Riley herself.
On top of that, the film itself knows how to effectively pull your emotions in more ways than one. As I just mentioned, this is one of the main things everyone knows Pixar for. But for as surreal as it should seem for a movie about emotions to be emotional, Inside Out has such sharp writing that the strangeness doesn't even really hit you until long after the film has ended. Once again, it turns its emotions not so much into cardboard cut outs as it does genuine characters who you can get invested in. The way the feelings created by these emotions bounce off of one another does make for some genuinely clever funny dialogue, sure (in fact, I'd actually say this film is way funnier than it has any right to be). But as you spend plenty of time with Joy and Sadness, you do really go on an adventure with them. Not just an adventure in terms of all the physical places they go, but in terms of their personal development. How fitting for a story all about growing up and becoming a more complex individual as you learn to handle life. It'd be a borderline sin for me to tell anyone how a Pixar movie ends when it's not my place as a critic, and I won't do it now. But I will say this, you'll probably shed a tear or two. Yeah, yeah, it's a Pixar movie. To say that means the film is doing its job. For a Pixar movie in the 2010's, though, that feels almost like a Godsend.
I could go and say more about Inside Out. But I'd just sound like a broken record. I guess it just goes to show, especially in the time it came out, how big a bar Pixar as a company has not just set for animation, but also itself. I guess that makes its misfires feel all the more jarring. And when it comes out with something good but not great, people respond to it almost apathetically (Elemental was fortunate enough to dodge becoming one of the year's biggest bombs yesteryear. And to be fair, I actually did highly enjoy the film. But still, that's only in comparison to how bad it was expected to do). It's a bit of a shame that Pixar can't quite hit the highs it was known for as often as it once did. But Inside Out still shows that even in the worst of times, the studio can still put something together of impeccable quality. Do I respect it as much as Wall-E or Up? Probably not. But that's just my personal taste. It's still definitely up in that tier. Make no mistake, Inside Out is an animated masterpiece of psychological proportions and absolutely worth a watch from anyone of any age. Possibly the best part, though? It opens up the idea for a genuinely intriguing sequel, to allow us to see Riley and her emotions grow more complex as Riley gets older. Hopefully Pixar will deliver on that promise with another excellent film. But even if that's not the case, you can't say they had a bad start.
OVERALL FILM RATING: 5/5
3D REVIEW
As I've said in my Elemental review, Pixar may not be quite as known for their 3D as their superb storytelling. But that doesn't mean they've put out anything unacceptable. In fact, a few movies like Elemental and Monsters Inc. have even snagged an "excellent" 3D rating. Inside Out may not be one of them. But with the colorful, creative, and surprisingly vast world it creates from Riley's head, it gets plenty of 3D milage and delivers enough thrills to make it worth the 3D Blu-ray price.
In terms of in-screen depth, Inside Out delivers a wide enough world as one would hope. Granted, outside Riley's head, a lot of environment is chalked up to the insides of small rooms, city streets, and an outdoor lake. But it still does offer the occasional awe-inspiring shot of the Golden Gate bridge or some deep nature scenery. Inside Riley's head, though, is where things take big turn. True, headquarters itself isn't the most rich with 3D detail. But looking out the windows onto Islands of Personality over a great chasm and the limitless reaches of Long-Term Memory is nothing less than mesmerizing. There's one moment in particular that's especially beautiful in 3D, and it's early on when the glowing memories are getting sent to Long-Term and they're shown traveling through clear tubes in the distance. When Joy and Sadness do get whisked away to Long-Terms Memory, you can feel the height and enormity of the aisles they navigate, the islands they try using to get back, Imagination Land, Dream Productions, and a cave holding Riley's deepest fears. That chasm I mentioned also feels incredible deep and menacing, especially in one scene where Joy tries balancing over a pole that goes to headquarters.
As huge and inviting as the 3D makes Inside Out seem, though, and while there's technically wrong with it, the 3D here does at times seem like an afterthought. I say that because there's never any particular moment that seems it was made with 3D in mind. That isn't really a criticism as I have seen films given legacy 3D conversions turn out better than some films that were planned for 3D from the start (including the aforementioned Monsters Inc). I just find it a little disappointing seeing as this came out in 2015 when 3D was still going strong. Still, there are quite a few moments where the 3D does add something unique to the film. Many of them can be chalked up to the screen the emotions look through in headquarters where they observe the world, look at dreams, and recall memories. This screen projects everything in 3D, so it's almost like a 3D movie in a 3D movie. The emotions use the screen for a slideshow of imaginary images that feels like looking through a 3D Viewfinder. And while Inside Out doesn't really have any sort of strong pop outs, there's one fun scene where Joy watches a nightmare in 3D and they push a car, a rat, and pizza box outside of the screen within the screen. It's neat effect, but one thing I found a little baffling was how the dreams were in 3D even though when Joy and Sadness are in Dream Productions, we clearly see them filming the dream with one camera. Who know? My guess is they had AIPOP's auto 3D convertor before there was AIPOP. There is one scene in particular that hits way differently in 3D than in 2D, and that would be when Joy, Sadness, and Bing Bong are in abstract thought getting their shapes reduced until they're 2D creatures. It's scene that's difficult to describe in words, but the visuals at play are none the less creative and surreal, which makes the addition of the third dimension more than welcome. Elsewhere, the events inside memories balls are in 3D and there are some brief, but neat shots of characters going through tubes.
Like I said before, Inside Out doesn't really have any notable pop outs. You do get a character protruding the screen every once in a while or even pieces of the environment such as the control console. But besides Joy's head in an important story moment, there's nothing here that stuck out to me. I didn't get the feeling I did during Shrek 3D (the 2001 film, not the 2003 short) where there seemed to be plenty of opportunity for pop outs, but they were too afraid to push it outside the screen. Besides a shot involving broccoli pizza, nothing was really actively coming out at you. Once again, that's not a criticism of the 3D. But it once again feels like something to bring up considering how this came out in 2015 when 3D movies were still trying to add some sort of 3D pizzazz.
Those couple of points aside, Inside Out does greatly benefit from the 3D. It offers such stunning cinematography, creative visuals, and an immense environment that it makes for a more than worthwhile addition to anyone's 3D Blu-ray collection, despite what the folks at Cinemablend say. It does lose a few points due to not being made with 3D in mind as much as it could have. But if you've read many of my reviews of 3D animated films, you know that animated environments and 3D naturally go together splendidly. And with the colorful world that Inside Out presents us with inside of Riley's mind, anyone seeking to be immersed in it ought to spring for the 3D version.
3D RATING: GREAT
OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D
Cinemablend's To 3D or Not Review: https://www.cinemablend.com/new/3D-Or-3D-Buy-Right-Inside-Out-Ticket-72047.html
High Def Digest's Review: https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/22575/insideout3d.html
FINAL THOUGHTS
Inside Out is a tour de force animated feature that makes use of its unique story to create memorable characters, plenty of good comedy, an imaginative and colorful environment, and a poignant message about the roles of our emotions as we learn to grow. It's all very amazing stuff. We knew it back then, and it's especially true now. I just hope that Pixar can do its great story and great potential for a sequel justice. We'll just have to wait and see. Until then, if you haven't seen it, give Inside Out a watch. If you're a common folk, the 3D here may not be anything to die for. But it does enhance the film in a way where if you are capable of playing 3D Blu-rays, it comes highly recommended. It makes an already visually arresting feature all the more visually arresting, and maybe even makes its story just a little more captivating.
BUY IT HERE
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