Inside Out: Why A Kids’ Movie Made Me So Emotional

 

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I took a trip to the movies to see Inside Out. I was expecting a cute Disney Pixar film that would make me laugh and maybe cry a couple of times. A couple. Instead, what I was presented with was a work of pure genius that made me feel every emotion across the board. Now, I’m not a movie critic but I know what I’m talking about with this one (98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes?!).

It’s not that I’m not a very emotional person. I’d say I’m a person with your typical amount of emotions. It’s just… this movie triggered something within me as I’m sure it triggered something within many others as well. I’m not living with my parents right now, and this is the first time that I’ll be away from my family for a whole summer. Riley (the main character in Inside Out) had a tough time adjusting to life away from everything she knew. I’m still adjusting to that, too.

This movie also forced me to get more in touch with my own emotions. Now, like I said, I’m an averagely emotional person. But this movie made me sob at least 3 times while I was watching it. And then I continued to cry for about an hour after it ended. It’s not that I wasn’t happy (I was) and it’s not that I didn’t like the film (I most definitely did), it’s just that for so long I wasn’t recognizing or checking in with my own emotions. I imagined what sorts of colorful orbs were rolling around in my head (if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll understand) and if they were mostly happy. I like to think that they probably are.

I also wondered what my “core memories” would be. In the movie, these “core memories” are moments in Riley’s life that make up her personality and her values. These core memories branched out and created little islands of things that mattered most to her such as hockey, family, honesty, and goofiness. I wondered what my little islands would be. Family, probably, along with music and reading and funniness (because I’m just so dang funny) and maybe a few others. What do YOU think your islands would be?

This movie was genius because it not only taught children about the different emotions a person can have but it also gave adults the opportunity to reflect on what memories they have and what emotions are prominent in their every day lives. Maybe it inspired a person or two to stop collecting so many angry memories and start collecting joyful ones.

I loved that kids had the opportunity to learn about the brain while watching the movie. The way the brain was laid out seemed to make a little bit of sense from a psychological standpoint and even though there isn’t really a TRAIN of thought, it made sense that the train wouldn’t be running while Riley was asleep. It was a very subtle way to introduce complex topics to children. Maybe in the future it will allow them to easily grasp abstract concepts about how the brain works!

I especially loved the journey Joy and Sadness went on to bring Riley’s core memories back. In the end, they learned that it is possible to feel more than one emotion at once. As we get older, our emotions and feelings will change and that shouldn’t be scary. I think one of my favorite parts of the movie was when Joy learned that there can be no happiness without sadness. It’s so true and it was one of the concepts that got me all emotionally worked up. In order for one to experience happiness, they must also experience sadness. I think that is beautiful and it’s something we should all try to remember as we go about our daily routines.

So, if you haven’t seen Inside Out… RUN to your nearest movie theater, bring your tissues, and get a big ole bucket of popcorn in my honor. You won’t regret seeing this movie. Make sure you come back here and tell me about all your feels in the comments below <3