Film Preview: Inside Out (2015)

Poster

Poster #1

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

June 19, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “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. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.”

Poster: C / B / C+ / B- (5) / B+ / B+ / C (2) / B / C (5) / C / B

Review: (#1) Pixar’s new film doesn’t seem to be falling into prior molds and this poster design is exemplary of that. This poster is a bit too oblique, especially if targeting young audiences and without explaining itself.

(#2) Unlike the first design, this second outing doesn’t tease the colors of the mind, but puts them full inside of it. That goes a long way to making the film seem more interesting. (#3) The third lists the emotions with small images of them, but isn’t that creative.

(#4-#8) Colorful and expressive, but not very practical or collectible. (#9) This is the best of the head posters so far as it puts the unruly emotions right into the head of the little girl at the center of the story. That’s enough to make young girls a little more excited about seeing it.

(#10) Like design #9, this poster has a compelling vibe to it. It’s simple, but not underwhelming. It’s also a bit more interesting than the prior design. (#11-#12) These two joy posters belie a fundamental issue with the character designs. While the other emotions pose in very similar, if not identical ways, she gets two designs with two entirely different poses, which makes her the central character, which doesn’t support the previously-thought impression that this was an ensemble piece.

(#13) Sticking with the 1960’s pastiche motif, this design reminds me a great deal of the Brady Bunch and Partridge Family eras, to which this film may have some measure of homage. (#14-#18) Another set of character posters. These are nearly identical to the prior designs, backing the camera up just a little to get the characters’ full range of motion, which doesn’t necessarily make them better, just a bit derivative.

(#19) Looking back on design #3, I suggested the concept wasn’t very creative and here it is again in another language still looking like something vague and bland. With the added problem of a white background, it’s even worse. (#20) Cheesy perhaps, but this “roller coaster” concept is entirely fitting for the film’s themes. If only it didn’t look like a rejected scene from the Toy Story films.

Trailer: B / A / B+

Review: (#1) As exciting as it is to see all the great Pixar films that came before it, what follows these fond memories is a preview of the film that doesn’t look particularly fascinating.

(#2) The initial teaser was interesting enough, but didn’t feel like the typical Pixar magic was at work. This time, we’ve got a much more fascinating, compelling and visually arresting film on display, making it look even more interesting than it could possibly have looked.

(#3) An expansive look at the plot may not have been what everyone wanted. The teasers set up a fascinating world that seemed more interesting than the third trailer makes the film appear. Taking elements from Monsters, Inc., the design of this film has a lot of too familiar elements, that doesn’t mean it will be bad, but some caution may be necessary. In spite of all that, it still looks enjoyable.

Oscar Prospects:

Pixar won’t have an entry in the 2014 derby, but it’s already writing its acceptance speech for 2015.

Revisions:

(October 5, 2014) Original
(December 14, 2014) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#2-#9)
(March 22, 2015) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#10-#18)
(June 14, 2015) New Posters (#19 & #20)