I know I'm way behind the curve on this but it's been a crazy busy weekend in a crazy busy month. Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) is a pretty typical 11-year-old girl. Inside her head live her major emotions, responsible for shaping her personality islands and creating memories. Joy (Amy Poehler) was created first, followed almost immediately by Sadness (Phyllis Smith). When Riley is uprooted from her home in Minnesota and moved to San Francisco, Joy is feeling positive about the situation. But a disastrous first day at school leads to a new sad core memory being created. In an attempt to prevent the memory from taking root, Joy and Sadness accidentally get sucked out of Riley's control center and transferred to her long term memory, leaving Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Anger (Lewis Black) to do what they can to keep Riley on an even keel. Joy is desperate to get back and looks to Riley's old imaginary friend Bing Bong (Richard Kind) to help her out, over Sadness' misgivings.
This movie has a lot to say in a short time. I think it might be the most subtle Pixar film yet. I'm pretty sure this is meant to be analyzed over multiple viewings to really capture all the nuances. That's good and bad. Good because it means that if you loved it, you'll most likely find even more things to love every time you see it. Bad because if you didn't immediately love it, you may never give it another chance. It is not as engaging as many other Pixar films and could be written off as middling. Many of the story beats on display feel familiar because they've been used before in movies and TV. There's something special here but it is in danger of obscurity behind the deft Pixar glibness that coats each frame.
There is also a stand-out short at the beginning called Lava, about a volcano who never gives up dreaming about love. It's so sweet it'll make your teeth ache.
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