Pixar has recently come under fire for recycling ideas and releasing a string of sequels, leading many to question if the company has lost its creative touch. The animation giant reacted by promising to deliver more original films, but their problems don’t end there: Pixar has also taken flak for its lack of female representation on and off screen, as their debut heroine-led film, Brave, was tainted by news that Brenda Chapman — the company’s first woman director, as well as the filmmaker who conceived the project — was fired midway through production. Bad publicity like this will require a bit of damage control, and one animator seems to be compensating with a new original feature.
The Oscar-winning director of Up, Pete Docter, cleared up what “wildly ambitious” project he was working on with screenwriter Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) during a conversation with THR. Called Inside Out, it takes place “inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl, and emotions such as anger, sadness, disgust and joy are the main characters.” Docter went on to describe the concept as challenging, as it requires telling two simultaneous stories — what’s happening inside and outside the girl’s mind — and figuring out how to make those stories “talk to each other.”
While the film focuses on a girl, the promise of a lady protagonist is dashed by the reveal that emotions are its main characters. Common sense would dictate that the emotions would also be female, but their genders are uncertain at this point — so far, all we know is that they’re made up of moving “particles” that act as a “massive collection of energy.” Once the sexes are determined, critics can decide if Pixar is really trying to change, or if it’s stuck in a rut.
Inside Out is slated for release in summer 2015.
What do you think of the idea behind Inside Out?