How does Inside Out fit in the Pixar Theory?
What is Inside Out about?
Inside Out is the newest movie from Pixar and it’s my
favourite so far. As soon as the first teaser for the movie came out, everyone
was asking whether it fitted in with the theory. Inside Out is about an 11-year
old girl named Riley Anderson whose entire world changes when she moves from
her hometown, Minnesota to San Francisco, where her father has gotten a new
job. The story is told through Riley’s eyes, but also through the eyes of her
emotions. At the start of the movie your thrust inside Riley’s head, where her
emotions grow into personified characters from birth to present. The emotions
are Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. Together, they help make decisions
for Riley that play out in the real world. Inside Out is set in 2015. This is
evidenced by the fact that Riley has a smart phone and a laptop with video
messaging.
One of the main tenets of the Pixar Theory is the idea that humans are batteries. In Pixar movies we have intelligent machines and mass produced toys that become self-aware. The reason they do this is because imagination powers them. In Inside Out we are given more information into why humans are so special and it has to do with emotions. Pixar has taken us into the head of a kid. The same kid who could power the society of Monsters in Monsters Inc. The emotions are so powerful, they make our decisions for us. Anger works to make sure life is fair. Fear protects you from harm. Disgust helps you make judgements. Sadness connects you to others and balances you. Joy will stop at nothing to make you happy. |
The rules of the emotions and Bing Bong
The rules of these emotions are fairly consistent with
Monsters Inc. In that movie, we learn that laughter and joy is more powerful
than fear. That makes a lot of sense since Joy is the emotions that is like the
boss in Riley’s head. She bosses the others around pretty effortlessly and it’s
her core memories that show Riley doing some pretty amazing things. There is a
character in Inside Out that you will surely fall in love with. He also happens
to be the strongest link to other Pixar movies. His name is Bing Bong. He’s
Riley’s imaginary friend from when she was three. He is part cat, part
elephant, part dolphin, made of cotton candy and he cries candy. He’s also
based on a monster from the future. The idea is that Monsters, Inc. is set in
the future. Long after humans die out, the monsters take their place in the
world. According to the special features on the DVD for Monsters, Inc., the
monsters were created when tribal humans ate fruit off a tree that gave them
characteristics and appearances of animals that had eaten from that tree. For
example, Sulley is a cat, mixed with a bear and a goat.
The monsters would eventually rebuild society after humans ruined it but they had run out of energy to power everything. So they turned to time travel to find the only humans they can. They used toys to travel back in time, where they could scare humans to get energy. To prevent a fluid timeline, they keep the time travel aspect a secret and banish monsters who break the rules. They even have an agency devoted to propagating the fact that humans are toxic. In Monsters Inc., that all changes when our hero, Sulley, learns that human laughter is much more powerful than screams. In other words, joy is stronger than fear (if you saw Inside Out, you’d believe that). Now imagine that you are a kid who just saw a monster come through your door and make you laugh. Wouldn’t you think this was a dream? Wouldn’t that monster eventually become your imaginary friend? Remember, this is happening when you are two or three, the same age this happens to Boo from Monsters, Inc. and Riley from Inside Out. Bing Bong is an animal hybrid with exaggerated characteristics. He talks about how he made Riley laugh and he is presented as the movie’s comic relief when Joy and Sadness explore Riley’s long-term memory. Jon Negroni thinks that Bing Bong is based on a real monster that Riley met at a young age. Riley still remembers him after all this time because he felt so real to her, so he became her imaginary friend. The Bing Bong we meet is a version of the monster that came through her closet at a young age. She just filled in some of the blanks. Since she couldn’t understand why he was pink, Riley imagined that he was made of cotton candy. At age 11, Riley still has some memories of Bing Bong. This all ties into a lot of Riley’s development as a character as well. As she grew up with a best friend that made her laugh all the time, she appears to be a happy well- functioning child. It seems like the consequence of monsters becoming less scary and more friendly, is having a positive effect on the character of humans themselves. When we enter Riley’s subconscious, we find out that she’s scared of clowns. It’s interesting that this is who she’s scared of. Not a monster. |
The Facts/Evidence
- Bing Bong is an animal hybrid from the future.
- Riley is afraid of clowns rather than monsters.