Before I start, I am not a big movie buff; nor am I a connoisseur of high-cinema. My movie tastes range from Goodfellas to Casino (both of which I have seen hundreds of times). The last time I stepped into a theater until tonight was when 300 was still on screen in 2007. So you can take this review with a grain of salt if you wish.
After my wife’s birthday dinner at a local Chinese joint (amazing food by the way), we were headed home when we passed a theater. Always the spontaneous one in our relationship, she suggested we watch a movie. Our first choice was Jurassic World, but it was not playing tonight and with a toddler in tow we thought better of it. Hence it became a toss-up between Minions and Pixar’s “Inside Out”. The Minions never really appealed to me, so my money was on Inside Out (though I didn’t know what it was about at the time). Diana also felt more drawn to Inside Out. Our little girl had no choice in the matter, she just wanted popcorn and gummies.
The movie plays itself out in the mind of a little girl named Riley. In her mind is a cast of emotions which make up her personality and form her actions (Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, & Anger). When Riley’s family moves from her childhood home, her emotions are thrown out of whack and she almost literally loses her marbles. It is up to Joy to preserve Riley’s mind and help her cope with the transition in her life.
The movie is humorous for adults, as we have all dealt with the same situations and emotions presented in the movie. Children are sure to fall in love with the characters as if they were life-long friends. Our daughter quickly figured out what was going on and who the characters were (and she isn’t even 3 yet).
This movie resonated with us because like Riley’s family, we are currently in the process of moving from the only home our daughter has ever really known. When we started moving our furniture to our new place, our girl was obviously depressed and she has been acting out in several different ways since. The movie even helped us realize our toddler has been going on an emotional roller coaster ride throughout the moving process.
I highly recommend this movie for a family movie night. It is sure to be fun for the whole family and helps us all understand the roles our emotions play in our daily lives. I hope this review was helpful to you. God Bless and Goodnight!
