海角大神

'Inside Out': Is the new movie another creative hit for Pixar?

Pixar's new film 'Inside' centers on a young girl, Riley, and the emotions living in her brain. The film studio has a great track record for producing satisfying stories that entertain kids and adults. Is this movie another hit?

The newest Pixar film, 鈥淚nside Out,鈥� is set to hit theaters on June 19 and judging by early reviews, it鈥檚 yet another creatively satisfying Pixar story that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

鈥淚nside鈥� centers on a young girl named Riley whose family has recently moved. The transition, combined with the normal emotions experienced by an almost-adolescent girl, mean that protagonist Riley's feelings are changing as never before. We see her emotions embodied by Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).

The movie won鈥檛 hit theaters until tomorrow, but early reviews have already been superlative. The film currently has a stellar score of 94 out of 100 on the review aggregator website , with critic Kenneth Turan, for one, writing that the movie is 鈥渁t once sophisticated and simple, made with visual magic and emotional sensitivity, casually probing deeper questions about what matters in life鈥�. [T]he saga of 鈥業nside Out鈥� finds room for crisp action, genuine jeopardy, cartoon slapstick, even adult humor.鈥�

Richard Roeper of the agreed, calling the film 鈥渁 bold, gorgeous, sweet, funny, sometimes heartbreakingly sad, candy-colored adventure that deserves an Academy Award nomination for聽best picture鈥�. Directed with great flair and pitch-perfect timing, brimming with sparkling visuals, filled with first-rate voice performances, thrilling adventures and unforgettable moments, 'Inside Out' is an instant classic.鈥�

Even critics who gave the film slightly less positive reviews still offered plenty of praise. writer Peter Bradshaw felt that the film doesn't deliver 鈥渁nything as genuinely emotionally devastating as 'Up,' or the subtlety and inspired subversion of 'Monsters Inc' and the 'Toy Stories'鈥� but nevertheless called 鈥淚nside鈥� 鈥渁 terrifically likeable, ebullient and seductive piece of entertainment 鈥� tremendously buoyant and watchable.鈥�

Pixar has enjoyed an unusual streak of creative hits. From its first feature in 1995, 鈥淭oy Story,鈥� to the sequel 鈥淢onsters University,鈥� almost all of its films have not only done well at the box office but also received extremely positive reviews from critics. There have been occasional stumbles like 2011鈥檚 鈥淐ars 2,鈥� which has the lowest Metacritic score of any Pixar film, but of the 15 films released so far (counting 鈥淚nside鈥�), almost all have been regarded as creative triumphs. Its films 鈥淯p鈥� and 鈥淭oy Story 3鈥� were nominated for Best Picture, an Oscar category that can be tough to crack for animated movies.聽

Pixar鈥檚 output may not be perfect, but it's had far fewer creative stumbles than most studios. What causes this creative hot streak? Ed Catmull, Pixar president, discussed the environment in a 2014 book titled 鈥�Creativity, Inc.鈥� Monitor writer Janet Saidi, in reviewing the book, notes that Catmull's focus at Pixar is on 鈥渢he stories, and the people working hard together to create them." It's his belief that the creative side of the process "should always be the focus 鈥� the technology [is] beside the point.鈥澛�

Catmull himself explored Pixar鈥檚 process in a 2008 piece for the . Of Pixar鈥檚 movies, some of which are based in ideas that seem odd for an animated movie (a film for kids about a senior citizen?), Catmull wrote, 鈥淪ince we鈥檙e suposed to offer something that isn鈥檛 obvious, we bought into somebody鈥檚 initial vision and took a chance.鈥� As for the work environment itself, he wrote, 鈥淲hat we can do is construct an environment that nurtures trusting and respectful relationships and unleashes everyone鈥檚 creativity鈥�. Everyone is fully invested in helping everyone else turn out the best work.鈥�