Reviews

Digging deeper the movie, Inside Out

We took the kids to watch Inside Out last night at the request of our eldest son, Pablo, who recently turned 10. It’s been a much talked-about movie and we thought it’s worth spending for.

We’ve been thinking of celebrating our kid’s birthday as a family in a different way, like doing a stay-cation somewhere in the South and have a dip in the pool. But since it’s rainy season and well, Pablo did ask for this movie, we decided to go for it and have dinner out instead.

Anger, Disgust, Joy, Fear & Sadness
Anger, Disgust, Joy, Fear & Sadness

A little background on Inside Out

Inside Out is a story about Riley and her five personified emotions  – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear.

Riley recently moved to San Francisco with her parents. Being in preteens phase, she goes through a roller coaster of emotions typical of any young girl in pre-puberty. It didn’t help, of course, that she had to leave all her friends and the things that she loved back in Minnesota, and nothing seemed to be going right.  She was homesick.

All throughout, Joy was in charge and have managed to keep Riley happy even in the most frustrating times. Once in a while, Anger, Fear and Disgust were allowed to have their hands on the console, but never Sadness.

Sadness was always told to stay away from the memories they were making.

Messages on the abstract

In my point of view, Disgust is the smarter one -the analytical one, the logical one, the one who weighs things and who keeps emotions from going rabid. I like Disgust in a way.

Except that Disgust also shows that when you think too much about things, you pass up on some really good things in life.

Fear is the confused one, Anger is the one with false courage and utmost carelessness, Joy is the positive one, and Sadness…she’s the rational one.

1. It’s okay to be sad

The main message of the story is that it’s okay to be sad. The quicker you decide to face your sadness, the faster you get over it. That acknowledging sadness opens doors to new joys. You see, nowadays, it’s common for people to push aside their sadness and see it as a distraction.

But sadness is an emotion that also needs validation. You can try to push it away but it will still be around until you decide to accept it and deal with it.

That’s what I got when Bing Bong, Riley’s imaginary friend, got sad when he saw many of his memories with Riley thrown from a cliff, down in the dump where memories fade. Sadness sat beside Bing Bong, allowing him to deal with what he was feeling and acknowledging it. After a while, the jolly Elephant slash chicken slash some other animal was back on his feet helping Joy and Sadness find their way back to the headquarters.

2. Sadness is an open door

Another lesson in the movie is how sadness is an opportunity to let people into your life. To seek help and support from people who will be there to see you through. Joy verbalized this part.

The movie might as well be written by a child psychologist. It deals with the importance of building the right blocks on the emotional foundations of a child that will allow this child to move into her next stage in emotional growth and development. There’s a lot of accuracy in it.

I’d say the movie addresses the parents more than it actually addresses the children who came to watch the movie. How important it is to be aware and involved in your child’s emotional stages.

Or that it addresses adults as a whole. I don’t know about you but I have observed that nowadays, compassion is rare.

Desktop

Processing the abstracts

It’s entertaining for children. Both Pablo and Lukas were hooked to what was happening on the screen the entire time.

Jay had to take Judah out to the back because he started acting out the minute he saw Joy pop onscreen. He was expecting us to watch Avengers, he told Jay, but I think it’s really more of a combination of sleepiness (he missed his afternoon nap) and well, there are certain characters that scare him, even on TV. Joy happened to add to the list.

My two older children were more into the story and what happened. You need to process the abstract with your children if your goal is for them to extract valuable life lessons from it. It’s really a good opportunity to connect with them and hear their thoughts.

But if you’re just there for entertainment, the movie will serve you that. The story is engaging, the graphics live up to the standards of Pixar entertainment and there is a generous drizzle of humor in it.

Inside Out was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The movie was directed and co-written by Pete Doctor and Ronnie Del Carmen, and produced by Jonas Rivera.

31 Comments

  • ivy

    I think I should watch this movie na. I’ll learn so much from this as a mom. I heard so much about this movie too from our friends and church mates.

  • Gilian

    I’d love to watch it, but we don’t have cinema in Saudi Arabia. =) I’ll have to wait…. =)
    I hope my 3 year old son an appreciate it without getting confused. =)

    • May De Jesus-Palacpac

      He won’t. The movie isn’t confusing but the message isn’t easy to grasp without you helping them process it.:)

  • May Castillo

    We just watched the movie and I so much agree with your review! I hope that those who will watch Inside Out will appreciate the importance of each emotion. That every emotion has a positive effect on the development and growth of a person and not just immediately stereotype a specific emotion as negative. The film was really brilliantly written. Highly recommended!

  • Millie

    Awwww, I love this movie. We weren’t allowed to disclose any information when we watched it for review purposes… I love how the makers explained the emotions thoroughly. We gave an 8.5 rating for this movie. I love Pixar movies talaga!

    Personally, it helped me understand the mood swings of my children, LOL… I became more conscious and appreciative. Sana we watched together!!

  • Arge

    Hi May!

    I’ve seen the movie and loved it. But, I felt sad during the scene when Bing Bong let go of the cart just so Joy can take off and land on the cliff.

    Inside Out is indeed a must-see movie for the entire family 🙂

  • Baby, JetSet, Go

    Just saw the movie. I agree with your review, there’s really much to learn from it. Very deep if you really spend time assessing everything. My 3-year-old did appreciate it at face value. I think I was the one who enjoyed more. Hehe. Thanks for sharing!

  • Chessy

    I really want to see this movie!!!

    My son is really emotional and I always try to validate his feelings and say that whatever he is feeling is normal and OK. I’m glad that there’s a movie like this which talks about feelings in children/teens. Because Pinoys aren’t really inclined on talking about these topics. 🙂

  • Maan

    We want to watch this movie but I can’t take Yuri to the cinema yet because he’s still afraid of loud sounds. We’ll find a way to watch it. Nice insights!

  • Janice

    We super loved this movie too! 🙂 I like Disgust too because I can relate to her being sarcastic. I actually took an online test to find out which Inside Out character I am and I got Disgust. Haha!

    But yeah, apart from being entertaining, the movie was really an eye-opener too. There are some people who, when I’m sad or disappointed, tell me I’m just being “nega” and that I should learn to look at the bright side. But to me, it’s not that I can’t see the bright side. I just need time to wallow in sadness for a bit. After that, I’m good.

    Some people just don’t understand that. They think sadness or disappointment are feelings that should be pushed away and that’s just not healthy. Plus, it’s not being honest with yourself.

    • May De Jesus-Palacpac

      haha, yeah. I’m the same. Grabe, same day tayo nanood, same area, pero magkaibang movie theaters. Mahal kasi ng pinuntahan niyo, hahaha! Pang Market Market lang kami. 😛

  • tina

    im contemplating if my two year old can watch this already. but as you reviewed, parents would benefit more from this movie. i heard it’s one of the best movies this year. can’t wait to watch.

  • Juvy Ann

    It is a good movie with a heart. It was successful in putting into screen via story telling, such a complex concept of how ones emotion controls our actions. Though i find it better suited for older audiences.

  • Jennifer Villanueva

    at first i didn’t want to read this post… because i haven’t seen the movie and i’m looking forward to watching it this coming weekend, but, well, i’ve read it. and i guess this post convinced me more to watch it hahaha baka bukas na bukas din! 😀

    • May De Jesus-Palacpac

      Haha! I barely touched on the plot so you’ve got a lot of new stuff to see when you finally get to watch it. 😉

  • Lucy Mills

    I haven’t seen this movie, but my kids watched it and my oldest (12) said it made him emotional… I’m very receptive to emotions of others, I hope it doesn’t make me cry!

  • Lorly

    watched the movie with my kiddos too, and yep, post-movie we went for pizza to talk about what they picked out from the movie. It was an opportunity to correct my 5-year-old’s take-away that it is okay to express anger or disgust anytime, it just depends on who is at his brain’s control panel. Agreeing with you 100% to process the abstract with kiddos.

  • Ayi

    We watched this with the kids and they love it. Of course they didn’t get the message (they’re only 2 and 3 years old) but I can’t help but analyze and dig deeper into the movie’s message. Great insights Mommy May 🙂

  • clang

    Yung di ko na mataandaan yung buong story nito, but I still remember yung feeling nung pinanuod ko ito. Ang ganda nito, at fave character ko si Sadness nagpagawa pa nga ako ng T-shirt na may Sadness print.

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