The Test Subject

Lore & Background

The film's plot centers on Riley's emotions—Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger—who live in Headquarters and process her experiences into memories stored as colored orbs. Core memories form personality islands that represent aspects of Riley's character. When Joy and Sadness are accidentally sucked out of Headquarters, the remaining emotions struggle to maintain Riley's happiness, leading to the collapse of several personality islands. The story explores how sadness can foster connections and help Riley adapt to her new life.

In Their Own Story

At age 11, Riley moves from Minnesota to San Francisco for her father's new job. On her first day at a new school, Sadness retroactively saddens joyous memories, making Riley cry in front of her class. This creates Riley's first sad core memory. During a struggle between Joy and Sadness, all core memories are knocked loose, and 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. Joy and Sadness journey through long-term memory, Imagination Land, and the Memory Dump, eventually realizing that Sadness's purpose is to alert others when Riley is emotionally overwhelmed. They return to Headquarters, and Sadness helps Riley express her sadness to her parents, leading to comfort and a new core memory that is both happy and sad. One year later, 12-year-old Riley has adapted to her new home, made new friends, and acquired new hobbies, with her emotions now working as a team.

Reader's Guide

The film's characters are the five personified emotions: Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Anger (Lewis Black). Other characters include Bing Bong (Richard Kind), Riley's childhood imaginary friend, and Riley's parents Jill (Diane Lane) and Bill (Kyle MacLachlan). The film was directed by Pete Docter, co-written with Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley, and produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It debuted at the 68th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2015, and was released in the United States on June 19, 2015. The film grossed $859.1 million worldwide and won Best Animated Feature at the 88th Academy Awards.

Did You Know?

• Pete Docter conceived *Inside Out* in October 2009 after observing changes in his daughter's personality as she grew older.
• The film's development took five-and-a-half years on a budget of approximately $175 million.
• About 27 emotions were considered for early versions, including irritation, envy, greed, gloom, despair, depression, love, schadenfreude, ennui, shame, embarrassment, and hope, but the number was later reduced for simplicity.
• The film consulted psychologists Paul Ekman and Dacher Keltner for accuracy in portraying emotions.
• *Inside Out* was nominated for two awards at the 88th Academy Awards and won Best Animated Feature.