Inside Out (2015)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A young girl's internal world is explored through the personified emotions that govern her thoughts and actions.
The story
Inside Out follows the inner workings of the mind of Riley, a young girl who adapts to her family's relocation as five personified emotions administer her thoughts and actions. In the mind of a young girl named Riley Andersen are five personified emotions that influence her actions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. They process her experiences into memories stored as colored orbs in "Headquarters", her conscious mind, and send them into long-term memory each night. Joy acts as the leader and tries to limit Sadness's influence, perceiving her as an unnecessary burden for Riley.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
At age 11, Riley moves from Minnesota to San Francisco for her father's new job. On Riley's first day at her new school, Sadness retroactively saddens joyous memories, making Riley cry in front of her class. This creates Riley's first sad core memory. Joy tries to dispose of it using a pneumatic tube but knocks loose the other core memories during a struggle with Sadness, disabling the personality islands. Joy, Sadness, and the core memories are sucked out of Headquarters. In their absence, Anger, Fear, and Disgust attempt to create new happy core memories but push Riley away from her parents, friends, and favorite activities. Goofball, Friendship, and Hockey Island thus collapse into the Memory Dump. Joy and Sadness encounter Bing Bong, Riley's childhood imaginary friend, who suggests riding the "train of thought" back to Headquarters. After various adventures through Imagination Land and Dream Productions, Joy and Sadness eventually return to Headquarters. Joy realizes Sadness's purpose is to alert others when Riley is emotionally overwhelmed. Joy hands control of the console to Sadness, who removes the idea bulb, prompting Riley to get off the bus and rush home. Riley bursts into tears, telling her parents she misses her old life; they comfort her. Sadness and Joy join hands on the console, creating a new core memory that is both happy and sad, representing Riley's acceptance of her life in San Francisco. One year later, Riley has adapted to her new home, and her emotions now work as a team with an expanded console.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 95
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Pete Docter
- Writers
- Pete Docter · screenplay; Meg LeFauve · screenplay; Josh Cooley · screenplay; Pete Docter · story; Ronnie del Carmen · story
- Cast and characters
- Amy Poehler · Joy; Phyllis Smith · Sadness; Bill Hader · Fear; Mindy Kaling · Disgust; Lewis Black · Anger; Richard Kind · Bing Bong; Kaitlyn Dias · Riley Andersen; Diane Lane · Jill Andersen; Kyle MacLachlan · Bill Andersen
- Genres
- animated; coming-of-age; comedy-drama; fantasy
- Themes
- consequences and portrayal of emotions and memories; emotional and psychological balance; fostering connections; environmental changes
- Tone and mood
- bittersweet; nostalgic; sophisticated; audacious
- Setting
- The mind of an 11-year-old girl named Riley Andersen, moving from Minnesota to San Francisco.
- Premise and plot tags
- coming-of-age; fantasy; animation; family
- Franchise connections
- Inside Out
- Reception
- Inside Out received critical acclaim for its craftsmanship, screenplay, subject matter, plot, and vocal performances. It was praised for its engaging visuals and its message about the value of emotions, though some critics found it emotionally manipulative or slightly inferior to Pixar's best works.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Animated Feature · win; Annie Award · Best Animated Feature · win; British Academy Film Award · Best Animated Feature · win; Critics' Choice Movie Award · Best Animated Feature · win; Golden Globe Award · Best Animated Feature · win; National Board of Review · Best Animated Film · win
- Production trivia
- The film was produced on a budget of approximately $175 million.; The character Bing Bong was kept a secret during marketing to serve as a surprise for the audience.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…