The director, producer and star literally play with our emotions in Pixar’s latest adventure, Inside Out.
Pixar Animations Studio has introduced audiences to a number of cinematic treasures over the years including WALL-E (2008), Finding Nemo (2003) and the beloved Toy Story Trilogy (1995-2010). It is safe to say that their latest creation, Inside Out from director Pete Docter, is an impressive addition to the Pixar canon.
Inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley live five emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. All emotions work together to make sure that Riley is feeling the right sentiments, reactions, and feelings. However, Joy works the hardest to make sure that Riley is happy as much as possible, keeping Sadness away from the controls. Joy’s task becomes harder when Riley’s parents decide to move from Minnesota to San Francisco turning Riley’s life upside down.
Inside Out is directed by animator, screenwriter and Oscar-winning filmmaker Pete Docter, the man behind Monsters Inc. (2001) and Up (2009). This comedy-drama also features the vocal talents of comedians Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling and Lewis Black. Docter and Poehler were in London this past week, alongside producer Jonas Rivera, to discuss the latest Pixar adventure.
“Multiple layers of entertainment, familiarity and a chance to take people somewhere new,” are always the fundamentals when creating a new project, says Docter. The filmmaker began developing the project back in 2009 when he started noticing a change in his daughter’s personality as she became older. “There is still that period in childhood where everything is possible,” spoke Docter, “and talking about the loss of that felt very important.”
On choosing the voice behind Inside Out’s lead character both Docter and Rivera stated that it was not a hard decision to make. “Amy (Poehler) is so amazingly quick-witted,” says the director, “that we’d put the script in front of her and she’d start going in a bunch of different directions.” Amy Poehler, a fifteen time Emmy Award nominee, has earned a prestigious title as one of the most popular contemporary comedians having received a successful run on shows such as Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation. The actress discussed her latest portrayal of Joy, stating, “The most exciting thing about playing her is that she isn’t a one-dimensional character. She is an emotion and has emotions and this focuses on the magic hour where puberty hasn’t ruined everything yet.”
As well as being a successful actor, writer, and comedian, Poehler is also the co-founder of the organization Smart Girls; an online community dedicated to providing an alternative and positive space for young girls. Poehler created the organization, alongside producer Meredith Walker, as a way to encourage young adults to embrace diversity and be themselves. Joy is a strong and distinct animated character that strongly resembles Smart Girls’ on-going message. “We celebrate the ordinary curiosity of regular, young people,” confirms Poehler, “and there was such a beautiful feeling that [Joy and] those things were linked somehow.” The protagonist of Inside Out, and its original concept, undeniably accentuate and encourage the positivity of being one’s self. “The enthusiasm and exuberance that [Joy] has is what you hope for in young women”, states Poehler, “she’s not self-conscious and not concerned about what other people think of her and I loved her for that.”
Choosing to focus on a pre-pubescent girl was the obvious choice as Docter informed us, “the group that are most fully aware and in-tune emotionally are 11-17-year-old girls”, to which Poehler replied, “I would have thought it was 80-82-year-old men after what you taught me in Up.” He added that the success of making the balance of appealing to both adults and children is all down to the research. “This is not a science film,” confirms Doctor, “but it’s such an abstract concept that we needed all the help that we could get.”
As well as Joy, another of the film’s central characters is Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith. Sadness proves to be a fundamental emotion as “Joy is almost an abstract concept”, says Poehler, “but happy is a very vague term.” On discussing the two opposing emotions, the actress continued, “It reminds us that it’s OK not to be happy all the time; no one is and it’s a good reminder that sadness can be your friend.” Also, Inside Out is proving to be a potentially helpful tool when focusing on children and teenagers. “As a parent you continually ask: ‘how do I help my child avoid pain while not depriving them of real experience?’ This gives children tools as a way to talk about their feelings; I know that it did with my kids.”
Inside Out has already grossed more than $490million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing opening weekend for an original title. The film premiered at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in May to outstanding praise and a ten-minute standing ovation. On reviewing the experience of the festival Docter admitted, “we were blown away to be there and was probably the most nervous that I’ve ever been in my life.” Rivera also commented on the feeling of joy the positive reception to the film gave him. “We get to make things and put them out into the world,” he says, “There is an emotional undertone in every part of the film.” Poehler continued that the film, “reminds you that you never know what someone is thinking, going through or feeling”, to which Docter joked, “which, as an adult, is more fear than I’d like to admit.”
The director is not the only father in the group as producer Rivera has three children, including a teenage daughter, and Poehler is a mother of two sons. It is clear from the emotion conveyed and explored throughout Inside Out, that it remains a personal project for all three collaborators. “It’s a love letter to our kids,” affirms Rivera, “but we were also inspired by little kids who just seem happy all the time; we knew a number of them.”
Inside Out is showing in Cineworld cinemas from 24 July 2015
Words by Victoria Russell
