PIXAR'S RETURN TO FORM
For many years since the release of its groundbreaking feature length debut Toy Story in 1995, Pixar was an animation studio synonymous with quality. It still is, of course; however, the slightly stumbling critical and commercial performances of recent features, including Cars 2 and Monsters University, had led some to question whether Pixar's heyday had come to a close. Judging from both the concept and early reviews of the upcoming Inside Out, released in the United States on June 19, the studio has responded to its doubters in spectacular style.
A GENUINELY ORIGINAL AND CHALLENGING STORY
To call the idea behind Inside Out original would be putting it.., mildly. Pete Docter, the film's director who initially put the premise to Walt Disney Pictures, admitted at the SIGGRAPH convention two years ago that the story was "one of the most challenging I've ever had to put together", as the narrative simultaneously follows both the lead character, a young Minneapolis girl called Riley, and anthropomorphized emotions, including Joy, Fear and Anger, inside her mind.
The story tells of 11-year-old Riley's distress after she has to move away with her mum and dad from Minnesota to San Francisco. This leads Fear, voiced by former Saturday Night Live regular Bill Hader, Anger, brought to vocal life by famously angry comedian Lewis Black, and Disgust, voiced by The Mindy Project creator Mindy Kaling, to run riot in her mind.
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