Pixar Animation returns with a fresh original feature next year, in the shape of Inside Out. The project is the latest Pixar title directed by Peter Docter (Monsters, Inc., Up) and is based on an original story Docter helped cooked up after being inspired by his own personal experience of watching his daughter grow up. The film’s script was either partly or fully written by Oscar-winner Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3), which gives us all the more reason to be excited for this new piece of Pixar storytelling.
Inside Out takes audiences not only inside the mind of young Riley (newcomer Kaitlyn Dias), but also her her parents; whom, earlier this week, we learned are voiced by Diane Lane (Man of Steel) and Kyle MacLachlan (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and are featured alongside Riley in the movie’s newly-released trailer. What plays out here is a familiar dinnertime scenario between a kid and her parents, albeit from a different (and thus, all the more entertaining) perspective.
The second Inside Out trailer does not, however, include an appearance by Joy (Amy Poehler), the head honcho emotion in Riley’s consciousness; and thus, the one who takes charge when the film’s young protagonist is forced to leave her old world behind for a new life in San Francisco, after her dad lands a job based there. The other four emotions that reside within the control center of Riley’s mind – Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Anger (Lewis Black) – clearly have all the more trouble cooperating when Joy’s not around, as the above clip illustrates.
Joy, like the other emotions from Riley’s head, has already been introduced via her own character video and poster, as part of Disney’s early marketing push for Inside Out. The film’s premise, assuming it’s handled well, could result in a Matryoshka doll approach to characterization. Ridley and her parents will be multi-faceted personalities who, in turn, have emotional components that could well be equally multi-dimensional characters themselves. How’s that for a mind-bender?
Beyond that, it’s interesting to note that Inside Out seems more focused on mining the rich drama from a situation as simple as a child dealing with being uprooted from their old home, rather than attempting to create a straight-forward three-act narrative out of that conflict. That’s another sign that Docter’s new film is not just an ambitious challenge for the computer-animation studio behind it, but also one that may prove to be something quite special.
Inside Out opens in U.S. theaters on June 19th, 2015.
