I don’t think anyone was more excited to see Disney Pixar’s Inside Out than my youngest. She is by far my most emotional kid, so she really looked forward to experiencing Disney Pixar’s take on the emotions of a young girl like her. I took it as a chance to see what a whole team of writers could come up with to explain the perplexing mind of a pre-tween girl. The night of the screening, she changed into a bright, dressy top. She told me she did it in honor of the Inside Out character, “Joy.”
“Based in Headquarters, the control center inside 11-year-old Riley’s mind, five Emotions are hard at work, led by lighthearted optimist Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), whose mission is to make sure Riley stays happy. Fear (voice of Bill Hader) heads up safety, Anger (voice of Lewis Black) ensures all is fair and Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling) prevents Riley from getting poisoned—both physically and socially. Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith) isn’t exactly sure what her role is, and frankly, neither is anyone else.”
– Disney Pixar
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew that the characters were cute, and the trailer was funny. The kids had been watching trailers, so they were much closer to the edge of their seats with anticipation than I. From start to finish, Inside Out took us on an emotional roller coaster – should we have expected anything different?
“When Riley’s family relocates to a scary new city, the Emotions are on the job, eager to help guide her through the difficult transition. But when Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind— taking some of her core memories with them—Fear, Anger and Disgust are left reluctantly in charge. Joy and Sadness must venture through unfamiliar places—Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, Abstract Thought and Dream Productions—in a desperate effort to get back to Headquarters, and Riley.”
– Disney Pixar
Enjoy this free download: 
Emotions Around the World (Bookmark this page – more free downloads and activity pages to come!)
How do I know the movie was good? Nobody asked me if they could go to the bathroom. They were willing to hold it. That’s love. My little ones’ favorite character was Anger. I don’t even want to think about why, but my little bit dressed like Joy, so as my mom says, “dress like you want to feel.” Her philosophy was to start from the outside in, not the inside out – especially if you are feeling blah on the inside – don’t cover yourself in it! That’s what she lived by. My cranky self needs sweats and t-shirts.
Now what you come to this site for!
Did it earn the PG rating? I’m not really sure. Anger did get pretty angry, and shouted a few unpleasantries. The scenes got a little dark at times, but nothing too dramatic. I didn’t have any problem with my 9 and ten year old seeing it, and I enjoyed it myself. Maybe PG was just right.
Bottom Line. Should you go see it?
Of course the graphics are amazing, and the characters are memorable – just like all of the other award winning record breaking movies created by Disney Pixar. It doesn’t just look good though, it FEELS good. I believe that it is a nice movie night film that allows families to laugh at themselves and feelings that seem very important at the time they are being felt. It was a lighthearted look at the emotions behind our actions. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I believe that you will too.
Should I take the kids to see it?
I think it is fine for kids to see Inside Out. Since I was less familiar with the plot than the children, I had to pay close attention to make sure that the themes weren’t too much for my little ones. It wasn’t. I believe that the kids enjoyed making fun of themselves a bit, and seeing the characters with the different emotions helped them to put faces with their emotions, albeit cartoon faces. They definitely left the movie with Joy at the controls. Inside Out is rated PG and opens in theaters on June 19th.
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Disclosure: I was given passes for my family. I was not given any other compensation. As always my opinions are my own.
