“Inside Out” Looks Inside Depression

One of my favorite things about summer is all the amazing movies that come out every season. Whether you’re into intense action films or romantic comedies, there are tons of movies to choose from in the summer. When I saw the trailer for the new Pixar movie Inside Out, I thought it looked really cute. It’s about the emotions in our head and how they function and interact in our head. Pixar movies are usually known for tugging on the heartstrings a little bit, so I was expecting some sappy moments, but I had no idea just how much this movie would hit home.

Riley, the girl that all the emotions are living inside of, lives a joyous life until her happiness is turned upside down when she moves from her small town in Minnesota to San Francisco. She leaves behind her hockey team, friends, and the only home she’s ever known. That causes something to happen in Riley’s head.

All of her memories are stored in little spheres that are mainly yellow, which means that they are mainly happy memories. But Sadness suddenly begins to touch all of these memories that were once some of the happiest moments in Riley’s life, and they begin to turn blue. Now when Riley remembers all of these happy times she begins to feel sad. For example, Riley loves to slide down stair railings, but once Sadness touches the memory of her enjoying doing that, she has no desire to slide down any stair railing she passes by anymore.

While this is all going on, the other emotions are upset with Sadness and don’t understand why she’s doing this. They don’t understand why she’s making all of these things that once brought so much joy to Riley’s life gloomy. Sadness says she doesn’t know why she’s making Riley sad and taking all these happy memories from her. She doesn’t want her to be sad but she just can’t help it. Then it hit me. Riley was beginning the early stages of depression. Not only that but Pixar was able to successfully show a person who doesn’t have depression or may not understand it at all, what it is like for someone who does have it. 

Without giving too much away, the movie had a fantastic message. It showed that sometimes you do need a little sadness in order to finally get to happiness, but too much of it that is a bad thing. I encourage people of any age to go see Inside Out in theaters this summer. It’s an excellent film that helps us understand our emotions, specifically when we’re feeling depressed.