From an early trailer, as glad as I was to see that Pixar had skipped a year in order to return to creativity, I had my doubts. Main characters based on emotions? I mean, Happy the dwarf wasn't happy at Snow White's funeral, but wouldn't Joy have to be joyful at all times? How can you build a plot around anyone so static and one-dimensional?
Well, they're not exactly like that, but I did surmise one thing correctly: how I would feel about each, um, feeling. Joy (Amy Poehler) makes an easy choice for a favorite, yet Sadness (Phyllis Smith) is about equally cute in a different way. Likable jerk Anger (Lewis Black) is probably the funniest, tho Fear (Bill Hader) might gain more traction with children. In fairness to Mindy Kaling, it's almost impossible to make much to enjoy out of Disgust, but at least she doesn't drag down the movie.
If you have half a working knowledge of neurology or even modern psychology, check your brain at the door. The IO setup involves a bizarre mix of energy beings and technology that come together so haphazardly, we might as well call it magic. It raises too many unanswered questions to list here. Fans of a philosophical bent could discuss the implications for hours and sense that they'd barely made a dent. Fans of a cinematic bent could use that time to speculate on the innumerable ideas that the writers considered and rejected for simplicity. Of course, I expect the kids to accept the premises and move on.
The emotions themselves know only so much about the operating system. In the case of our protagonists, Joy has dominated the control panel for most of host Riley's 11 years to date (her name might refer to "the life of Riley"), ceding control as the situation demands. Nobody objects to this, but Sadness has an extra reason to be sad: She's had little to do besides read the manuals. After a series of clumsy attempts to get involved (I'm impressed Anger didn't strangle her), she and Joy both get transported far from the station, forcing them to spend most of the rest of the story trying to make a dangerous trek back. Well, Joy tries; Sadness is too defeatist half the time.
For a conflict with no villains, it's a pretty scary prospect: Riley could lose her capacity for joy forever, starting at a rather early age for chronic depression. The remaining emotions seem to entertain the idea that a new Joy will arise under the right circumstances, but they have second thoughts. Oddly enough, no matter what happens with Riley's emotions, her behavior doesn't look schizophrenic on the outside. There's always something in the conditions to vindicate her attitude, more or less.
Oh, I suppose you want to know a bit more about Riley by now. Well, understandably, the filmmakers sought to make her widely relatable, so they don't flesh her out much. The only real hobby we know her to have is hockey. She also takes interest in family, friends, imagination, and silliness, but what kid doesn't? From her perspective, the almost too-simple main plot is her move from a Minnesota town to San Francisco, producing a whirlwind of excitement and nostalgia that doesn't make it easy. Oh, and she's exchanged her imaginary cartoon animal friend for an imaginary Canadian boyfriend, both of whom turn up in the journey of Joy and Sadness.
The moral of the story lies in finally recognizing the value of sadness (and not just because she read the manuals). It's an important if rarely taught lesson for kids, and I think some grown-ups could use the reminder.
Appropriately enough, sadness is what IO evokes best in the audience. I know my throat tightened during a few scenes. Even some of the voice actors reportedly cried, in a good way.
If there's one more way that IO trumps all other Pixar features, it's in the genders. Not only are they about equally distributed, with perhaps a slight advantage on the female side, but even Brave doesn't pass the Bechdel Test this handily.
I dunno; maybe you'll count it among the funniest as well. Most of the humor didn't catch me by surprise, but occasional glimpses of the emotions of characters other than Riley helped a lot. My mom's favorite moment actually happened during the end credits, right before it switched to just credits.
I can't say that IO tops my Pixar list. It isn't the cleverest, the prettiest, the most mature, or the best for developed characters. But it certainly makes the upper half. What's more, the ending strongly invites a sequel, one that might well be even better. Let's hope IO makes enough at the box office to compensate for its low merchandise potential. (The credits said something about a video game, but how would that work?)
ADDENDUM: If you're interested in the pre-feature short, it's "Lava." As usual for Pixar, it shows an excess of empathy, this time for volcanoes. What's different is that instead of having no vocalized words, it's loaded with singing -- mostly narration. To me, it's about par for the course.
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