Kids' Movies: Animation in Emotional 3D

Spoiler alert...? 
I don't really tell anything about what happens in Inside Out, but I do talk about the "conclusion of the story," which would probably give you a good idea of how it ends.  ;-)  Read on at your own risk.

I just saw Pixar's latest movie, Inside Out, and I'm thrilled to say that Pixar has done it again.  Honestly, when I first heard about the premise of this one--little people representing the emotions in a little girl's head--I was worried that it would come out really ham-handed and, well...lacking in emotional subtlety.  How can you really show the complexity of what someone is feeling with only 5 "emotions" interacting, and all of them as separate characters?  But Pixar proved me very wrong, and in fact, it is the question of emotional complexity and the interactions of our own feelings that they captured so very well in this movie. 

It also brought to mind another observation that I've made before about the current era of children's movies that, to my mind, started all the way back in 1995 with the original Toy Story.  Children's movies are infinitely more complex than they used to be--and I'm not talking in terms of plot, design, or anything like that--but in terms of emotions.  We are, very fortunately, living in a time where children's films are becoming more emotionally genuine than ever before. 

I think children need this.  I think we as a society need this.  People need an emotional education--a framework for talking about and understanding our feelings--one which, alas, our formal education system does not usually provide.  Why not turn to movies? 

The original Disney films were beautiful retellings of old fairy tales, and they still have a strong resonance in our culture--but the characters were never real.  Why does Prince Charming want to save the Princess?  Cause she's pretty?  Cause he's in love with the idea of being "the one" who can slay the dragon--in love with himself, in other words?  There are plenty of people in the world with artificial motivations and desires, but the early Disney films were never meant to really explore this side of human nature.   Those films were a two-dimensional tableau where good was good for its own sake, and evil existed to destroy and corrupt.  But why?  Because evil hates good, and the two cannot coexist.  It's an almost Biblical premise, one that audiences originally accepted without question. 

But Inside Out?  Is there a villain to vanquish, or evil to destroy and eradicate forever?  No, there are only feelings--and you see the merits and the necessity of each one.  The conclusion of the story is not that little Riley lived happily ever after, but that little Riley learned to reconcile the good with the bad, to live with pain and make the most of all her emotional riches, and most importantly--how to do this while creating and preserving powerful bonds with family and friends. 

In particular, the essentiality of sadness--a feeling so often belittled or demonized in our cultural heritage--is a lesson that most children are left to learn on their own: and late in life, or not at all.  The fact that Pixar was both daring and wise enough to present it this way to children, in a form that they can understand, is the genius of their storytelling, and it's the part that brings tears to my eyes during the best moments in any Pixar movie.  As a certain wise wizard once said:    

"I will not say, do not weep, for not all tears are an evil."

The acknowledgement of emotional complexity in Inside Out is the culmination of a trend in children's movies that started all the way back with the first Toy Story, 20 years ago.   I watched that again last night and, because everything in my mind relates to Harry Potter these days (I'm almost done re-reading those books, I promise!), I thought, 'If these characters were sorted by the Sorting Hat, Buzz Lightyear would certainly be a Gryffindor, and Woody would be...a Slytherin?' 

Yes, indeed.  That's right, the main hero of a modern children's movie is a conniving, ambitious, sarcastic little schemer who's only content when he's on top.  Sure, he learns lessons and becomes a better person by the end of the movie, but his personality is still very much the same, and the feelings of jealousy that he struggles with are something that anyone, child or adult, can relate to.  It's also worth mentioning that what saves Woody from being one the more thoroughly "bad" Slytherins are his compassion for a morbidly depressed Buzz (who completely loses his identity and purpose half-way through the movie), and his love of Andy (who loses his two favorite toys).  At the end of this crazy adventure full of rockets, squeaky aliens, and psychopathic 9 year-olds, Woody is saved by his own positive feelings for other people.  It's a children's-movie moral blended perfectly with a mature, complex emotional journey. 

And it's not just Pixar either.  Disney and Dreamworks have also jumped on this bandwagon (okay, I know Disney bought Pixar in 2006, so they're kinda one and the same, but whatevs).  One of my favorite moments in Frozen is when Kristoff has this lovely imaginary conversation with his reindeer:

Kristoff: Of course I don't want to help her anymore. In fact, this whole thing's ruined me for helping anyone ever again.

[as Sven]Kristoff: She'll die on her own.

Kristoff: I can live with that.

[as Sven] Kristoff: But you won't get your new sled if she's dead. 

And that's what does it!  Our prince charming (who's neither a prince, nor charming...well, maybe in a very rustic kind of way...) decides to save the princess, not because she's pretty or because he's "in love" with her, but rather for the sake of his own material gain.  And this is THE good guy in the story!  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Disney for finally being more realistic!  

Now, I'm not arguing that there is no such thing as noble causes or virtuous motivations--but things are usually more complicated than previous generations of kid's movies like to make out.  I think that kids can handle a lot more emotional honesty than they've been given in the past--in fact, I think they need to.  Movies provide vivid fuel for our imaginations.  We soak them up and make them part of our psyche.  If we give our children emotionally complex characters that they can relate to, and we treat those characters with respect in spite of their shortcomings, I think kids will grow up as stronger, more compassionate people.  I think we'll all grow up a little more. 

So thank you to the creators at Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks, and everywhere else that makes great animated stories, for reminding all of us that you can be a good person, even with all of your flaws and contradictions.