Inside Out Facts!

Hey everyone, hope all is well and that you’ve had a nice week. I swear one of these times I post, I’m going to shock not only you but myself when I say we didn’t do a single thing all week, but today is not going to be that time as it has been a hectic one. My mum and I have had to write numerous emails between us, fill a job application out on behalf of my dad, go grocery shopping, take a few phone calls (one regarding confirmation for the recruitment course my mum and I are going for an interview for) and also make a few phone calls (I.e. the doctors, tech support, solicitor etc..), as well as look at a couple of properties, attend my dentist appointment – where a minor incident with the composite bonding machine occurred (thankfully it was resolved quickly and didn’t hurt me too much) and my mums doctor’s appointment, then to top it all off we ended up having our third power cut in the space of a couple of weeks, luckily it only lasted a couple of hours (unlike last time where we had no power almost all day), so it has been a very hectic week for sure.

Now on with this week’s post…9 years ago the whole world was introduced to the brilliant film that is Inside Out when it was released in theaters on June 19, 2015 in the United States, and July 24, 2015 in the United Kingdom. Brought to life from the inventive and creative mind that brought us Monster’s Inc. and Up, Pete Docter gave us a film about not being afraid to express your emotions that resonates not only with children but adults as well. Inside Out is an all-round movie that gives us a fun concept of the inner workings of the mind, so to celebrate the film coming out 9 years ago today, here are some facts you might not know!

*Before continuing…I should forewarn you that if you haven’t seen the film at all / or as of yet, this post might contain spoilers, so only read if you are ok with that.*

Run Time: 1 hour 35 Minutes
Directed By: Pete Docter

Summary:

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Now as a result, and as Riley prepares to navigate a new city and attend a new school, her emotional headquarters becomes a hot bed of activity. As Joy attempts to keep Riley feeling happy and positive about the move, other emotions like Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness make the transition a bit more complicated. When the situation spirals out of control, and desperate Joy tries her best to troubleshoot the unprecedented problem, something starts to happen in Riley’s core memory sector. An accident with Riley’s happy memories start changing her entire outlook. Joy and Sadness need to find her memories and return them to Headquarters before it’s too late. The question remains though…Can they save her memories and Will things ever get back to normal?

Main Cast:

Amy Poehler – Joy
Phyllis Smith – Sadness
Richard Kind – Bing Bong
Bill Hader – Fear
Lewis Black – Anger
Mindy Kaling – Disgust
Kaitlyn Dias – Riley
Diane Lane – Mom
Kyle MacLachlan – Dad

According to the director Pete Docter, each emotion is based on a shape: Joy is based on a star, Sadness is a teardrop, Anger is a fire brick, Fear is a raw nerve, and Disgust is broccoli. He noted that he likes broccoli very much, however.

Unlike the other characters, Joy doesn’t have a shadow due to her bright personality.

Production designer Ralph Eggleston worked for five and a half years on Inside Out. He said it’s the longest he’s ever worked on one film and was the most complicated process, too.

Psychologists and other experts worked closely with the writers so they could make the way Riley’s mind works scientifically accurate. For example, short-term memories made during the day are converted into long-term memories during sleep, which is what happens in Riley’s mind.

The film featured about 45 animators, about half as many as previous Pixar films.

Originally, Joy would team up with Fear rather than Sadness. The creators thought they would be the funnier pairing. They went with Sadness instead when Pete Docter was on a Sunday walk and then had a bad train of thought. He feared he’d get fired and lose his friends. Because of this, he realized Joy needed to know it was okay for Sadness to be at the controls occasionally.

Pete Docter’s inspiration for this film came from watching his daughter go through the turbulent part of growing up.

The dinner scene where Riley’s mom tries to get her husband’s attention came from Pete Docter’s own experience.

Inside Mom’s head although Sadness makes all of the decisions, it’s actually Joy who runs the console. When Sadness decides what they’re going to do, she gives an order to Joy who then puts her hands on the console and, for example, signals Dad across the dinner table.

Riley’s chief emotion is Joy, Mom’s is Sadness (acting as the more complex emotion of empathy), and Dad’s is Anger (acting as the more complex emotion of protectiveness).

For the voice of toddler-age Riley, the producers recycled the old dialogue of Mary Gibbs, who provided the voice of Boo in Monsters, Inc. (2001). She is even listed in the credits under additional voices. Coincidentally, toddler-age Riley’s hair is styled the same way as Boo’s.

Some memory balls in Riley’s mind contain scenes from other Pixar movies, such as Carl and Ellie’s wedding in Up.

The colors on Bing Bong’s flower represent the colors of the emotions: yellow for Joy, green for Disgust, red for Anger, blue for Sadness, and purple for Fear.

When traveling through Imagination Land, two board games can be seen; one is that of a clownfish named “Find Me,” a reference to the Pixar movie Finding Nemo (2003), and another game, named “Dinosaur World,” is a nod to Pixar movie “The Good Dinosaur (2015)”, released in November 2015.

In Riley’s classroom (No. A113), a map at the back of the room has pins plotted at different places worldwide. They refer to where all the Pixar movies are set.

Received an eight-minute standing ovation at its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

The writers considered up to 27 emotions but settled on five (Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Anger) to make it less complicated. Some primary emotions that were cut included Surprise, Pride, and Trust.

Lewis Black was the studio’s first, and only, choice to play Anger.

The railings of the walkways and balconies in Riley’s headquarters are in the shape of DNA strands.

The massive shelves of the Long Term Memory curve and bend to resemble the various wrinkles and folds that appear on the cerebral cortex of the brain’s outer surface.

The first Pixar feature film with no physical antagonist character. The antagonist is the idea of “things changing.”

In the course of the film, Joy experiences all five of the basic emotions: joy being her overall demeanor, anger at Sadness’ actions, disgust towards Riley’s dream boyfriend, fear towards Jangles the Clown, and finally sadness in the Memory Dump.

When Bing-Bong empties his bag for Joy to hold the Core Memories, he unloads dozens of memory balls and various other items, including an old boot, an anchor, and a sink. This is a reference to the idiom “everything but the kitchen sink”. They’re implying Bing-Bong’s imaginary bag literally has everything, including the kitchen sink.

When Bing Bong’s rocket is tossed into the memory dump, Joy can’t console him, but Sadness talking with him about the good times he had with Riley allows him to compose himself and move forward. Ultimately, Sadness getting Riley to admit she misses home lets her accept their new home.

Director Pete Docter has said that Bing Bong’s voice actor, Richard Kind, was actually crying while recording the line, “Take her to the moon for me, okay?” Kind later admitted to this. Also, the cast and crew reportedly cried while recording the scene.

Mandy Moore, Isla Fisher, Joan Cusack, Kristen Bell, Reese Witherspoon, Kristin Chenoweth, Tina Fey & Lisa Kudrow were all considered to voice Joy.

Emma Stone, Zooey Deschanel, Sandra Bullock, Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon & Teri Hatcher were all considered to voice Sadness.

The tenth Disney’s animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, after Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), WALL·E (2008), Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Brave (2012), Frozen (2013), and Big Hero 6 (2014).

Robin Williams, James Woods, Kurt Russell, Billy Crystal, Adam Sandler & Jim Carrey were considered to voice Bing Bong.

The eighth Pixar film to be win of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, after Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), WALL·E (2008), Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Brave (2012).

The distinct personalities of the different emotions were inspired by the dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

The family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco reflects Pete Doctor’s history: he is from Minnesota but now lives in California to work at Pixar.

When Joy and Sadness go to Dream Production Studios, the gate they go through is a reference to the famous Paramount Studios gate.

The producers were so impressed with Lewis Black’s performance as Anger during the film that they decided to incorporate elements of his stand-up routines into the film. For example, Anger is often seen reading a newspaper, a reference to his stand-up where he will mention looking at a newspaper and reacting unfavorably to the news on it. Anger’s outfit of a red tie and a dress shirt refers to his stand-up, where he often wears a red tie and a dress shirt with a black sports jacket.

Anger reads newspapers with headlines about what’s happening with Riley, such as “First Day of School” and “No Dessert.”

Kaitlyn Dias (Riley) was originally just a scratch voice, meaning her voice was only to be used to narrate the storyboard cinematic during development to see if scenes were working or not. However, the producers liked her so much that they decided to keep her as the voice of Riley in the finished film.

Early titles for the movie included; Joy, State of Mind, Mind, Joyless, Trouble in Mind, Life of Riley, Out of our Mind, Down in the Dumps, HQ!, and HeadQuarters. Pixar animator Matt Jones even jokingly suggested the name “Joy Story”.

In an earlier version of the script, the emotions would also have their own names. So Joy was ‘Optimism’ and Sadness was ‘Ira’, Sadness was ‘Misty’ and Disgust was ‘Nadia’.

Depending on where you see the movie, there are a few small changes that you may notice. For example, in Japan, kids actually really LIKE broccoli, so it was changed to green peppers for the audiences there. Similarly, depending on where you are, Riley’s dad will either fantasize about hockey or football.

Inside Out sparked conversations around mental health and emotional well-being, encouraging viewers to openly discuss and understand their own emotions. It contributed to reducing the stigma surrounding mental health issues, meaning the movie had a positive impact on mental health discussions.

Inside Out is a captivating and thought-provoking movie that explores the complexities of human emotions in a unique and imaginative way. With its compelling story, relatable characters, and stunning animation, this film has gained recognition and applause from both critics and audiences alike. By delving into the intricate world of the human mind, Inside Out manages to touch upon deep emotional themes while still maintaining a sense of humor and entertainment. Whether you’re a fan of animated movies or simply looking for a film that will make you reflect on the complexities of human emotion, Inside Out is definitely a must-watch, and you can enjoy more fun and games with Riley and her emotions (introducing four new emotions — Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment and Envy) in Inside Out 2 that is now in cinemas!

Thank you for coming to my blog and reading today’s post, I hope you all have a lovely week and if your thinking about going to see Inside Out 2 – I hope you enjoy it. For now though I shall say…see you next week.