Pixar reveals plot details to its next movie “Inside Out”

Via Pixar’s official website, this announcement yesterday:

From the tepuis of South America to a monster-filled metropolis, Academy Award®-winning director Pete Docter has taken audiences to unique and imaginative places. In 2015, he will take us to the most extraordinary location of all — inside the mind of an 11-year-old named Riley.

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions — Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city,
house and school.

Director: Pete Docter
Co-Director: Ronnie del Carmen
Producer: Jonas Riveras

This seems like a really fun idea, a variation on the Angel and Devil trope:

Only in this case, these are physicalizations of human emotions, not supernatural figures, which should make the Protagonist’s experience more relatable to both kids and adults.

Also speaking as a parent, this seems like an excellent way to generate conversations with children about how to acknowledge and accept one’s feelings, but also learn how to control them as well.

Here’s a visual of the five emotion characters:

It seems like the story is putting the idea of psychology right out there on the table in plain view for audiences. Plus no shortage of conflict with five dynamics vying for control. Finally, it slots right into the way I teach screenwriting: How the screenplay universe is comprised of an External World and Internal World; how characters each wear ‘masks’, switching from one mode of being (archetype) to another; how Protagonists almost always start off in a state of Disunity and go through a metamorphosis-journey leading toward Unity.

In other words, I like this idea a lot, especially with Docter at the helm as he’s directed two of my very favorite Pixar films: Monsters, Inc. and Up.

Release date: June 19, 2015.

How about you? What are you thoughts about Inside Out?

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