'Inside Out' Minus Emotions Still Has All the Feels
Inside Out’s juggling act of a plot takes place simultaneously in two worlds: the first is San Francisco, where an eleven-year-old girl named Riley is struggling with her family’s move from Minnesota, and the second is Riley’s head, where her core emotions (personified as Joy, Anger, Sadness, Fear, and Disgust) attempt to cure her blues by recovering Riley’s happy memories. But what would Inside Out be like if it just showed Riley’s adjustment to her new life on San Francisco, minus the scenes inside her head? For one thing, it would be just 15 minutes long. And yet, judging from film student Jordan Hanzon’s Vimeo version, the emotion-less story still works. Watch his fan edit of the Pixar film, called Inside Out: Outside Edition, above.
Related: A Guide to ‘Inside Out’s’ Complex Mind Machine
The Outside Edition cuts out everything that takes place in Riley’s mind, including the narration from her primary emotion Joy. Most of the film’s humor (the wacky dreams, the punchlines from Fear, Anger, and Disgust) is also stripped away, meaning the shorter version is arguably more heartbreaking (even without Bing-Bong’s dramatic exit). Still, the story beats remain intact: Riley’s happy childhood, the abruptness and disappointment of moving, Riley’s increasingly futile efforts to remain her parents’ “happy girl,” and finally, her acceptance of the changes in her life. The movie’s message — that it’s important to feel all your feelings, even the bad ones —comes across, though we still prefer to experience Sadness as a lovable blue blob in a turtleneck sweater.
Related: Watch a Peek of 'Riley’s First Date,’ the New 'Inside Out’ Spin-Off Short (Exclusive Trailer)