I hear voices ALL the time.
Seriously.
I hear my mom saying “don’t forget to tithe” every single time I get money.
I hear her saying “you don’t need that second or third serving” every time I’m tempted to eat like a pig.
I hear my dad quoting scriptures to suit whatever situation I’m facing at the time.
I hear my aunt Alex saying “I’m proud of the woman you became, you really surprised me and all of us”.
I hear my ex-hubby saying “you’re doing a great job with our son” especially on days I doubt my mothering skills.
And I almost always hear my little man saying “you’re the best mom ever” even when I say no to his repeated requests and pleas to spend all day playing video games with his friends.
Those 5 voices are on a constant loop in my head ALL the time that I was actually beginning to think I was crazy until I went to see Pixar’s Inside Out.
Turns out, according to Pixar and Disney, I’m not crazy or alone.
See, the movie is basically about a young girl named Riley and how her emotions shape her personality and influence her relationships after her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco.
The voices take on the forms of Joy,Anger, Sadness, Disgust and Fear with Joy being the predominant emotion running the show and Sadness being the one emotion struggling to fit in and find her place in Riley’s life.
To say this movie is well done would be a gross understatement.
It takes the complex issue of emotions and how they affect our decisions and churns it into a rather beautiful story that both kids and adults can enjoy.
Yes, this isn’t just a “kids only” movie, adults will enjoy it too plus if you watch it with your kids, it can be used as a great parenting tool the next time they’re down or frustrated or whatever.
You can then sit them down and get them to talk about whatever emotion is currently running the control board in their heads – Anger? Fear? Sadness?
That dialogue is probably an unexpected consequence the film makers didn’t anticipate as a result of people watching this movie about five personified emotions but I know that it’s come in handy for me and a few other parents!
So bottom line – should you go see Inside Out? YES.