If you haven’t watched the latest Pixar release yet, go do it now. Inside Out is the perfect balance of sharp, silly and sweet. Most of the story goes on inside the head of a 11-year-old girl Riley, whose family has moved far away of her childhood home and she’s struggling to cope. Her emotions—joy, sadness, disgust, anxiety and anger—are personified by adorable characters. The cutest of the lot is Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith of The Office (American). Sadness is a round little emo kid who everyone initially views as a major bummer. But you soon come to see her as an island of calm blue in a chaotically colourful world. Sadness is secure of her place in Riley’s life—she’s not going anywhere. And that’s just one reason she makes such a great friend.
1. She won’t judge you for crying: “Crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of life’s problems.”
2. Happy people don’t need anyone. They go through life jumping from one high to another, annoying everyone with their good cheer. Sadness walks at a reasonable pace, and keeps you company when you’re grumpy.
As she follows a bouncing Joy through the amusement park-like Imagination Land, Sadness asks with the mounting dread of the lifelong introvert: “Is everything going to be so interactive?”
3. She won’t lie to make you feel better.
Sadness: “Wait Joy! You’ll get lost in there.”
Joy: “Think positive!”
Sadness: “Okay… I’m positive that you’ll get lost in there!”
4. She appreciates the importance of taking frequent lying-down breaks. Staying upright is overrated.
5. She understands that childhood doesn’t last forever, parents don’t have all the answers and Calvin will one day outgrow Hobbes.
Life sucks. She gets it.
Deepa Menon
