Inside Out 3D: Ultimate Collector's Edition (2015/Disney/Pixar Blu-ray 3D w/Blu-ray + DVD)

Picture: A/A/B Sound: A/A/B Extras: B Film: A-

As one of the best movies (animated or otherwise) of the year, I highly recommend Disney/Pixar's Inside Out (2015), a fantastic, imaginative tale filled to the brim with kind of action, adventure, and emotion that only the team over at Pixar could deliver. With their previous tales taking places such as deep beneath the sea, outer space, and in a world of superheroes; the team took their skills to perhaps one of the most mysterious places, the mind of a child.

Inside Out follows the inner workings of a little girl named Riley from birth up to the age of 11. The first 10 years seem to fly by in the film as we see the child develop both inside and out; most of her life being about exploring and discovering the world around her. Whereas Riley is the main character of the film, it is the characters in her head that take center stage. In a 'control room/super computer' like setting the emotions of Joy (voiced by Amy Pohler), Fear (voiced by Bill Hader), Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), Anger (voiced by Lewis Black), and Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kahling) are the personifications of Riley's emotions; each taking their turn at the controls according the situation at hand. The filmmakers brilliantly managed to distill the complexities of thought and emotion into relatable medium to display the inner workings of a child's mind. There are 'Islands of Personality,' orbs to represent stored memories, and literal 'Trains of Thought' to transports those memories/ideas.

The catalytic event that changes Riley's life forever is when her family moves from her beloved Minnesota town to San Francisco for her father's new job. Every emotion in Riley's head springs into action during the move; fear, joy, anger, disgust all have their own unique input on the move. This puts Riley in a whirlwind of emotions, with mostly Joy and Sadness at the helm. It is soon discovered that if Sadness touches any of the happy memory orbs (from her life in Minnesota) it quickly and irreversibly turns to a blue (sad) orb. At first Joy attempts to keep Sadness occupied and out of the way, as to not muck things up; but Sadness (almost instinctually) continues to be involved.

After some mechanical errors with the memory orbs up on the control deck, Joy and Sadness are whisked off to the Memory Bank where we as an audience are introduced to a host of interesting characters. Joy and Sadness know they must get back to the control deck to make Riley whole again, but getting back will be no easy task; and leaving Anger, Disgust, and Fear alone at helm leaves Riley confused as her personality is slowly chipped away. Sadness and Joy travel through Imagination Land where they meet a certain character that sets the film up for some its best and saddest moments; giving viewers the opportunity to experience every emotion.

The film is truly astonishing, as it vividly displays emotions and development in a tangible manner. To say the film is profound is a simplification; as director Pete Docter and his team managed to capture the essence of human emotion with visual personifications that never feel forced. The orbs, and trains, and islands, and everything else the film uses as incarnations of what exists inside all of us (young or old) is spot on.

The film is palpable, as it will leave viewers with tears in their eyes and a lump in their throat as Inside Out gets it. What is 'it' you ask? That something inside all of us that is nearly possible to explain, that something inside that makes us who we are; and something (that somehow) Pixar purified into a beautiful animated film. Bravo.

The technical features on this Disney Pixar 3D Blu-ray release are nearly as amazing as the film itself. Of all the studios out there, Disney/Pixar has been at the forefront of delivering beautiful at home presentations. This particular 'Ultimate Collectors' Edition' set reviewed here comes complete with the 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy of the film. The picture on the Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D is a 1.78 X 1 MVC MPEG-4 presentation that is incredible with bright colors, fine-fine-fine detail, brilliant light/dark balance, and inky blacks. The crisp, clean, clear image of the 2D Blu-ray translates nicely into 3D and is demo quality, being one of the finest 3D Blu-rays I have seen to date. What makes the 3D so good is its balance; many 3D presentations are either lackluster or gimmicky, but Inside Out manages to deliver a steady, consistent presentation that caters to both 'pop out,' 'in your face' effects and tasteful depth. The sound is a lossless DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio presentation that engulfs the viewer in sound. Viewers will find themselves in the heart of the action with spot on panning effects, while concurrently getting chills from the surrounding musical scores. With solid directionality, crisp/clean dialogue, and admirable prioritization Inside Out may be viewers new go to Demo film.

The DVD is merely a downgrade of both Blu-ray presentations and the Digital copy (good until the year 2020) is nice for viewers on the go.

The extras are held on a second Blu-ray disc and include the following:

• Disney/Pixar short film 'Lava'

  • Following in theme with the feature presentation, Lava is an emotional tale of a lonely Volcanic island looking for love (Available in both 2D and 3D)

• Audio Commentary

• Disney/Pixar Short Riley's First Date

  • A short film that displays the emotions going through the heads of Riley's father and potential boy in her life

• Path the Pixar: The Women of Inside Out

  • A sit down with the female voice actors of the film discussing what the film meant to them

• Mixed Emotions

  • Emotions that got cut from the film, as well as the development process of featured emotions

• Mapping the Mind

  • The process of developing the film's sets/lands in the mind

• Story of the Story

• Our Dads, the Filmmakers

  • Pete Docter's daughters tour Pixar Studios

• Mind Candy

  • Animation tests

• Into the Unknown: The Sound of Inside Out

• The Misunderstood Art of Animated Film Editing

• Deleted Scenes

  • All animatics with explanations from Pete Docter as to why they were ultimately cut

• Trailers

- Michael P. Dougherty II