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 The ingenious film by the Pixar studio which brought the
world "Toy Story" almost 20 years ago, and more recently "Up",
shows characters personifying basic human emotions of Joy,
Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness acting out their roles in the
head of a young girl named Riley.
The first emotion baby Riley experiences is Joy, a blue-haired
sprite voiced by Amy Poehler of "Parks and Recreation", that
makes her smile. But that is quickly followed by cries provoked
by blue-hued Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling),
which makes her fling her broccoli from her high chair.
Much of what happens inside Riley's head, where memories take
the shape of luminescent spheres the size of bowling balls,
looks like a giant pinball arcade game.
Facets of Riley's personality, including her relations with her
mother and father, her interactions with friends, or her love
for playing ice hockey, resemble amusement park attractions -
perhaps to feature someday at a Disney World near you.
The film was so warmly received by the notoriously critical
audience of film specialists at the festival, where "Inside Out"
is having its world premiere in advance of general release next
month, that it raised questions about why it was not in
competition for the Palme d'Or prize to be awarded next Sunday.
"Being here was really the prize," Pixar director and producer
John Lasseter said, when asked why it was not a competition
entry.
The film is being shown under the festival banner but outside of
competition, which big studios like Disney often choose as a way
to get international media attention without the risk of being
snubbed by the festival jury.
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Pete Docter, the film's director who came up with the story idea
from observing his own daughter entering young adulthood, said he
saw no difference between what makes a good animated film and a good
live-action film.
"We often hear of animation referred to as a genre, which we don't
believe in," Docter said.
"We just consider it a medium and one thing, the only real metric we
work to...is make something you want to see, make something you'd be
proud to show your family."
Trade publication Variety said the movie "proves to be the greatest
idea the toon studio has ever had".
Peter Bradshaw, of The Guardian, wrote: "This movie is a
sweet-natured coming-of-age comedy, a kind of tween-transition
crisis, though with a fundamentally sunny Disneyfied worldview."
(Story refiled to correct spelling of Poehler's last name in
paragraph 3)
(Writing by Michael Roddy; Editing by Dominic Evans)
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