Let's see.
It's not Pixar's best movie (personal opinion), but with some of the great titles they've produced, they have an extremely high standard to reach for. However, I do agree that it's a very ambitious movie. And I think they were able to pull it off. As someone who'll take a scene from a movie or something and try to pick apart why someone did or said what he did, I was happy with this exploration of the mind. The jumps from Riley's world to that of her mind were good too, not jarring.
I dunno about some of the psychological parts of it (like the core memories powering the "islands" of her personality), but I did like seeing the breakdown of these islands over time and then their rebuilding.
Stuff like memory dump, short- and long-term memory, and the recall tubes were both "ooh, yeah, I totally get it!" and "wow, it actually makes geographical sense... that's cool!"
I don't have a favourite character at this point (though Anger and Disgust amuse me and I empathize pretty easily with Sadness).
Even whilst watching it for the first time, I understood why Elanor suggested not rewatching it too soon. Not sure what it is, but there is something about it that, though it was very good, just didn't call for an imminent rewatch.
Triple Dent Gum. You're welcome, to those who know what I'm talking about. 😛
Imaginary Boyfriend = combined head-popcorn and snork.
Bing-Bong. Not a favourite character, but still relatable. And he earned points near the end, for those who know what I mean by that.
The resolution between Joy and Sadness. *sniffle* Bother you, Pixar, I can only handle so much bittersweet!! (Granted, though I shed two tears at that (and four elsewhere), that moment didn't kill me as much as Toy Story 3 did... twice!! (How I managed to hold back those tears is a mystery to me.))
Boy whose emotions freaked out at the end: 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
In the words of Larry the Cucumber, "I laughed, I cried: it moved me, Bob." I rate it a 9.
Just so y'all know, I moved this post from the chat thread to here. 🙂
Heh-heh, thanks, Tenny. 🙂
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Now that song is in my head. (Which was sung by Nick Pitera, by the way. He mentioned he had a part in it and I'm sure that's his voice...)
I really did enjoy this movie, it's great and very original: It may not be Pixar's best but it is a great comeback, I think.
The introduction with the music (good soundtrack to give a listen to), was spellbinding. I think I got goosebumps when Riley made her first memory and all of the gears began working, lighting up the darkened space.
This is a nitpicky thing, but it kinda bothered me: why did all of Riley's memories show her in them, save her first? I understand the artistic nature of them, the audience needing to see what's going on from a wider perspective and it would be more understandable if they were all like that, but why just one?!
I'll probably come back when it's not so late and write down more of my feelings about it.
*cackles* Success! 😛
Say what?! Really?!?!
And I'm not coherent enough to respond to the rest now. I shouldn't even still be up....
I really liked the movie. I thought it was interesting how they got the combined emotions, and some general concepts of how the human mind works. It was fascinating.
I loved the cat part in the credits!!! SO funny!
I agree, Anne! I loved the cat part - it totally caught me off guard and is so true. 😆
I liked it a lot. The whole concept was fascinating, like Always said. Train of thought, recall tube, how Riley responded when different emotions took over, etc.
I think my favorite emotion was fear. 😀 I love the part where he has dream duty.
I also love the part where Bing Bong jumps off the rocket so that Joy can make it to the top. 🙁
Oh, and I like how in the end it was Sadness who had to fix everything, and how Joy finally realized that.
@Elanor: I'm gonna have to give the soundtrack a listen to.
Huh. Yeah, that is odd. I didn't even notice that till you mentioned it! Perhaps it has something to do with how we see that memory through Riley's eyes whereas we don't get that with any other memories?
@always: Yes, the cat!! At first, I was thinking, "... none of them are at the controls... they're just being cats... maybe that's the point?" And then scaredy-cat played with that one stick and the cat just freaked out at nothing. 😆 I also liked the driver one.
@Shi: Haha, yes, fear on dream duty... It's a good thing he was there to help with waking Riley, even if he didn't know about all that.
Bing Bong.... He died selflessly and that was the best part about him. I'll always love selfless deaths.
And yes, I did like Sadness' role (and Joy's realization of that in the end). At first, I was kind of with Joy on the whole "don't-let-Sadness-touch-anything" (even though I knew that she was important and why), but especially when Bing Bong broke down, I was definitely all, "okay, Joy, step aside because the only way to get Riley happy again is to let Sadness do her work". And the ending was a beautifully-struck balance.
@Ariel: Didn't we see the one where she breaks down in class? It's revisited while she dreams but is shown later, in the little memory ball, through a wider perspective.
But we also see that from the outside. Like when she talks about stuff she used to do and starts to cry.
Maybe the first memory is just of her parents because there's not much about that for Riley to react to (especially as a newborn), whereas all the rest show a reaction?
I know....I teared up at the Bing Bong thing and was like "WHY AM I TEARING UP AT THIS, OF ALL THINGS?!?!?!?"
I loved the part where they spilled over the "facts and opinions" and they said, "O, theses facts and opinions look so similar." ^_^
@ella---I KNOW! The cat!!! I just started laughing right when it came up, even when they were doing nothing.
Oh, yeah, facts and opinions. That bit was both hilarious and scary.... 🙂
Well, I've listened to the soundtrack and while it hasn't wow'ed me, there were definitely a few track in there that I very much enjoyed.
@Ariel: Hmm, I think it could work that way. Still, I like consistency. 😛
I like the softer parts, especially the main theme."Chasing the Pink Elephant" (?) was a nice piece - it brought me back to childhood things with the carnival/fair-like sound.
Bing Bong didn't really affect me emotionally, though I did like his sacrifice to help Joy, er Riley. For me, it was when Riley came back home and Sadness took controls. It hit me personally, considering the move our family has gone through, so during that scene I thought of places I used to go to and the relatives I grew so close to. In fact, the entire scenario is very similar to how we're living now (complete with sleeping "on the ground" 😉 ). Couldn't have watched it at a more appropriate time.
@Elanor: I totally get you. Consistency would have been nice. 🙂
I liked that track too! It did have a fun sound to it.
And yeah, definitely when Sadness took the controls. I think what hit me hardest, though, was when both Joy and Sadness hit the button. (I love bittersweet, so....)
