Some of the mindyourmind staff team saw Disney Pixar’s Inside Out recently. Here are our thoughts on the film.
Joy: “What is this place?”
Sadness: “The Subconscious. It’s where they put all the troublemakers.”
Hard to pinpoint a favourite part of Inside Out, because really what I liked best was how well thought out the concept as a whole was. I can see this being a film that people point to as a way to describe and learn about emotional intelligence. We learn that core memories aren’t necessarily earth-shattering moments, rather snippets of life that shape who we are or what we’re about. Memories can be emotionally complicated…they can be happy and sad at the same time. The islands we anchor to that keep us healthy- Family, Friends, Fun… they crumble but can be rebuilt. Disgust telling us “Emotions can’t just quit!” and the worst thing isn’t feeling sad, it’s not being able to feel anything at all.
– Andrea, Curriculum Writer
As ‘Inside Out’ starts, we learn that most of Riley’s memories– and crucially the core memories that define her’ are ones of joy. The other emotions have occasional appearances (temper tantrums, bouts of fear, self-doubt) but the world is, on the whole, joyful. Even as things start changing around her, joy insists on overpowering the other emotions. But as we learn, Riley needs to feel these other emotions. She needs to be sad and scared about the move. Only upon accepting that her emotions are complex can she find peace in her new life, and a new slew of emotions that mix together complexly.
– Melissa, Project Coordinator
All I can say is that I watched the dudes in the row ahead of me wiping their eyes too…cause sadness has a place and a purpose. The movie highlighted the uncomfortable, awkward even annoying aspects of sadness but is a lens that we all need in order to see more clearly. It’s the great communicator, when and if we can access it. The movie showed us that for many reasons, some beyond our singular control, we can’t get at it but when we can, all other feelings can settle down. A gorgeous movie.
– Christine, Research and Evaluation Lead
The movie captures the way that important memories are not necessarily the major moments in life. They are the individual moments that have personal significance, even if no one else would remember them. It’s not major life milestones – it’s the book you loved, the toy you won at the fair and your favourite make believe game as a kid. The pieces that make you who you are varied and reflect exclusively your own experiences and perceptions. You can’t tell just by looking at a person what their core memories might be, just as they can’t intuit yours. The only way to share your values and beliefs is through speech and action. People can’t know what matters to you unless you tell them.
– Katy, Projects Support Analyst
Bing Bong, Goofball Island, Imagination Island…the animations in this cartoon are awesome! A super creative, imaginative and SMART film. It really gets your thinking wheels rolling. It may be a kids movie, but it’s also a very well-designed psychological look at feelings. Paints a visual picture of resiliency, how our personalities are made up and how easily we can fall apart…and how (maybe not so easily but entirely possibly) we can be put back together again.
– Diana, Content Developer
The movie travels the familiar path of ‘growing up pains’. While visually it is perhaps not the best offering from Pixar’s creative vault, it does at times get you teary. Maybe that is because Inside Out is the first Pixar movie I have watched since becoming a father. I didn’t cry but felt like it a few times. But I digress. It makes a powerful case how our personalities are a carefully-crafted mix of emotions. Ultimately sadness is as important as happiness.
– Silence, Web Community Developer