I recently watched Inside Out for the second time (because it totally deserves it) and something amazing happened – a moment that had me personifying the future of human existence as a happy puppy with tiny pom-poms on each paw prancing through a sunny meadow while chanting “Everything is good!” It’s important to note: I rarely get this optimistic about our species.
An elderly couple and their two grand kids – a boy and a girl – sat in the row behind me. The boy was munching on a family bag of Skittles (which distracted me greatly since I had just watched this) while the girl – no older than ten – could not stop talking to grandma and granddad about Inside Out. This was her second time watching the film, too.
I’ve already mentioned why I believe it’s important to let kids talk during films, so I didn’t turn around and loudly demand she obey traditional cinema etiquette – even though I’d love to end a blog post with “then granddad knocked me out with a swift uppercut to the nose.”
It was a third of the way into the film when the puppy-pom-pom moment occurred. (VERY SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT!) During a Skype call in her crappy new San Fran house, Riley finds out that her best friend back in Minnesota is getting along well with a new girl on their hockey team. Under the impression that she’s been replaced, Riley angrily slams the laptop shut, causing Friendship Island to crumble in her mind.
It’s a sad thing to feel like your best friend is forgetting you, but since Sadness wasn’t there to control the situation, Anger responded instead. This incongruous response caused Riley’s sense of friendship – a core value in her life – to fall apart.
And this is EXACTLY what the little girl behind me was telling her grandparents (except she didn’t use the word ‘incongruous’).
So what exactly cued MY thought of a pom-pom-wearing puppy? There have been many who suggested that kids wouldn’t “get” Inside Out, that the themes and ideas are simply too complex – I had my doubts, too. But, as evident from the tiny stranger behind me, some kids ARE getting it. And when there are kids who show an understanding for complex material, I’m pretty Goddamn thankful there are big-budget studios who aren’t afraid to make challenging children’s films for the masses.
This isn’t to say EVERY children’s film should challenge kids (this is why we have Minions). I’m pretty sure ten-year-old me would have focused more on a family bag of Skittles than Inside Out…
