In the last couple of decades, Pixar has shown again and again that, as a studio, it has a firm grasp of what makes people work. What’s more, they seem to have an uncanny ability to bring life and personality to things that are normally not seen to have those things. From adorable robots in outer space to fish trying to find their way home, Pixar has brought some truly iconic animated figures to screen.
Not content with their earlier success, Pixar turned to human feelings and emotions in Inside Out, in the process giving characters like Joy, Sadness, and Anger some truly great lines.
Updated on September 20th, 2022 by Colin McCormick: The announcement from the recent D23 Expo revealed that the long-anticipated Inside Out 2 is indeed in the works at Pixar. Fans are excited to return to the world of Riley and her emotions which will no doubt be expanding in the sequel. In the meantime, fans will surely be revisiting the original and looking back at some of the memorable quotes that made Inside Out so special to begin with, from the hilarious to the heartbreaking.
“I Sure Am Glad You Told Me Earthquakes Are A Myth, Joy.”
Fear
When Riley’s family moves to San Francisco, it is an adjustment for all the emotions. But certainly, the most unnerved by the whole this is Fear who has more than a few worries about the whole situation.
As Joy takes on her natural leadership role, she seems to have decided that keeping the truth about certain things from Fear would help everyone. His relieved delivery of the line is hilarious and it is fun to imagine what his reaction would be when he finally does experience his first San Francisco earthquake.
“Joy, For The Last Time, She Cannot Live In A Cookie.”
Disgust
Joy is such a lovable character but a great part of the movie is how her best of intentions are not always the best way forward. She has such a bright and happy view of things that she can get carried away from reality.
In the hopes of distracting everyone with some fun stuff, Joy goes over all the imagined ideas of what their new house could look like. Joy reveals her favorite being a fairytale-like house made out of various deserts which Disgust correctly points out is not a great idea.
“Is It Garbage Day?”
Father’s Anger
While much of the action in the movie takes place inside Riley’s head, some of the funniest moments are when the audience gets a brief glimpse inside the heads of some other characters. This comes into play as Riley’s parents try to deal with her sadness.
While eating dinner, Riley’s mom gives Riley’s dad a signal to address Riley’s behavior. However, a glimpse inside his head reveals none of his emotions were paying attention and they desperately try to guess what she might be wanting from him. It is the kind of humor that proves Pixar movies are for adults too.
“I’m Positive You’ll Get Lost In There!”
Sadness
Part of what makes Inside Out one of the most rewatchable Pixar movies is seeing how it built up to that impactful ending. Sadness is initially seen as a troublesome character who makes everything harder for Joy and is a constant pessimist.
However, when looking back at the movie, it is clear that Sadness was often right and that Joy’s positivity was not always helpful. When Sadness advises against taking a shortcut, Joy tells her to be positive leading to this wonderful comeback.
“They Came To Help… Because Of Sadness.”
Joy
Inside Out is a great children’s movie not just because it is bright and fun but also because of the very worthwhile messages at its core. While animated movies deal with serious issues sometimes, Inside Out might achieve it better than any other movie.
The big revelation comes when Joy realizes that sadness is not something that Riley needs to avoid, but something she can embrace at times to feel the love of her family and friends. It is something all kids can learn from.
“Take Her To The Moon For Me. Okay?”
Bing Bong
Inside Out is one of the saddest Pixar movies and a lot of that has to do with the character of Bing Bong. As Riley’s childhood imaginary best friend, he’s become a part of her past, something only vaguely remembered.
Ultimately, Bing Bong sacrifices his own existence so that Joy can escape from the Memory Dump. His parting words to Joy are a reminder of just how much he loves Riley, and they are sure to not leave a dry eye in the house.
“Crying Helps Me Slow Down And Obsess Over The Weight Of Life’s Problems.”
Sadness
While Joy is obviously the main character of the film – full of all of the infectious charms that only Amy Poehler can deliver – Sadness also proves to be a remarkable character. Though obviously many of her lines are played for laughs, there’s something profound about this line.
It serves as a reminder that, though sometimes it’s hard to accept, crying can be a useful means for someone to take a few moments out of their day to reflect, sometimes about the darker aspects of human existence.
“DID I ASK FOR THE GUM COMMERCIAL?!”
Anger
The TripleDent gum commercial is a running joke throughout the movie with the annoying jingle popping up at various points throughout. It’s a fun play on all the jingles that people get stuck in their heads from television, and Anger’s reaction showcases exactly how most people react to them when they pop up.
Every time the advert appears, the emotions always react, but the best moment comes when Anger is planning for Riley to run away. In the midst of all the madness, the advert appears and Anger truly lives up to his name and just totally loses his cool.
“Remember The Funny Movie Where The Dog Died?”
Sadness
Everyone has watched one of those heartbreaking films where a dog dies. For better or worse, it seems to be one of the most popular types of dog stories to tell. While most people find that death to be more than a little bit difficult to bear, Sadness’s words here reveal that there are actually ways that it can be pleasurable to indulge in sorrow.
In fact, as Inside Out makes clear again and again, sorrow is a necessary part of the human condition.
“Congratulations San Francisco, You’ve Ruined Pizza!”
Anger
Voiced by Lewis Black – a man who has made incandescent rage part of his comic persona – Anger is one of the funniest Pixar characters ever, what with his outbursts and tendency to burst into literal flame when he gets frustrated.
Leave it to him, then, to express the fundamental truth that yes, it is in fact possible to ruin pizza. There are just some sorts of toppings that don’t belong on a pizza.
“Okay, Caution, There Is A Dangerous Smell, People.”
Disgust
Disgust is one of the funniest characters within this movie, and her sheer shock and horror over broccoli is one of her greatest moments in the movie. It’s something that everyone can relate to, with parents having struggled to feed their children different vegetables, and children disliking certain ones. The way that she reacts as if it’s something so serious is what makes the scene work perfectly. It’s Pixar at its best in terms of catering to such a wide audience, which is why it’s such a great moment.
“Oh No! These Facts And Opinions Look So Similar!”
Joy
One of the things that set Pixar apart as an animation studio is that it is pretty upfront about the fact that its films are addressing some of the key philosophical questions of the present.
Certainly, as recent years have made clear, it is sometimes very difficult indeed to suss out the difference between fact and opinion. This witty little aside is a potent reminder that, no matter what anyone says, there is a difference between the two, and it’s important to learn to tell them apart.
“Boy Band Island? Hope That’s Just A Phase.”
Fear
Towards the end of the movie when Riley’s Mind World expands with new islands, the emotions all discuss what they can see, and each character has a comment on it all. Fear’s comment is perhaps the funniest, where he takes a dig at the world of boy band music, which is quite funny.
It’s nothing too offensive and is something that a lot of parents can probably relate to, having to listen to various boy bands over the years. It shows that Fear can be scared of just about anything as well, which further pushes his personality, even at the very end.
“I’m Too Sad To Walk. Just Give Me A Few… Hours.”
Sadness
In Inside Out, it’s not just that Sadness has some of the most amusing lines. The animators also make her physically amusing, as when she reveals that she is so overcome with her own signature emotion that she can’t even walk (not right away, anyway).
Of course, it’s a very funny moment, but it’s also a rather somber reminder that sometimes people do indeed find their physical abilities impaired by their emotional state.
“I… I Know You Don’t Want Me To, But… I Miss Home…”
Riley
The trope of a kid being unhappy about having to move to a new town and leave behind everything they liked about their old one is a very popular one in films and TV. Most of the time, the kid comes across as being a bit unreasonable.
Pixar, however, thankfully chose a different tack here. While Riley is honest about her feelings, she expresses them in a way that is totally comprehensible and respectful of her parents, and they return that respect. Though Riley is not as entertaining as the emotion characters, moments like this make her one of the most relatable Pixar characters.
“Who’s Your Friend Who Likes To Play?”
Bing Bong
Bing Bong is one of the best supporting characters in Pixar’s history, and he’s incredibly memorable for his bubbly and happy personality. While the emotional side of his story is obviously very well known, there’s no doubt that his catchy song is one of the best quotes from the movie.
It’s one that gets stuck in the audience’s head (in a good way), and really highlights the fun and excitement that he brought when he was part of Riley’s life, which is what makes him so popular.
“We Should Lock The Door And Scream That Curse Word We Know.”
Anger
Sometimes, there’s really no way to express one’s anger or frustration except through the use of a curse word. For that matter, who doesn’t remember the way that cursing was infinitely alluring as a child, precisely because it was something that seemed to make the adults in the room so uncomfortable?
Pixar, always with an eye for a bit of cleverness, manages to capture both of those phenomena at once.
“Do You Ever Look At Someone And Wonder…”
Joy
This is the first line in the beginning of this Pixar movie, in which the audience is made aware that they are about to be taken inside the mind of a girl. It’s rather brilliant, especially since the line is delivered by Joy.
It’s a neat way to set up the rest of the film, making it clear that Amy Poehler’s character is going to be something of a tour guide through this strange and wonderful exploration of what makes the human mind work.
“The Foot Is Down. The Foot Is Down. Whoo!”
Father’s Fear
During the scene where Riley and her parents are having a meal at home and she has a tantrum, the emotions of both mom and dad come into full effect.
It shows how emotions can change and mature, which is something Pixar could follow up with the sequel. However, this scene shows a great joke as the father showcases some force, which is exactly what his wife doesn’t want. However, his Anger emotion is incredibly proud of the entire thing, with this quote hilariously summing it all up.
“I Just Wanted Riley To Be Happy…”
Joy
One of the key conflicts in this film is between Joy and Sadness, with the former fervently wanting to protect Riley from the latter. Ultimately, of course, she has to come to terms with the fact that, though undiluted sadness can be stifling and destructive, this emotion also gives birth to important things such as empathy and compassion.
This quote is one of those moments where Joy really starts to examine herself and her own assumptions.
