Inside Out

Inside Out was so disappointing! I had heard good things about it and thought it would be one of those really great animated kids features that adults like (Up, Toy Story, Megamind (my favorite), Wall-E, Coraline, etc). But alas, this was not.

I was drawn to the concept -- the characters are all different emotions inside a child's head, and they are trying to navigate her transition to a new city. But the combo of complex ideas about emotions and memory combined with goofy characters totally annoyed me. It got really weird/interesting as it went deeper into the child's mind and stored memories trying to find sources of joy or whatever, but it just was too hokey and pop psych for me. I'm curious what age kids this works for -- I can't image many young children being able to grasp the cinematic rendering of their deep unconscious, but older ones might be bored. Also, as much as I love Amy Poehler, her voice really bugged the shit out of me in this one.