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0000017c-60f7-de77-ad7e-f3f739cf0000Arts & More airs Fridays at 7:50 a.m. and 4:20 p.m.Theme music: "Like A Beginner Again" by Dan Barry of Seas of Jupiter

Inside Out: How Pixar Got Its Groove Back

It's been almost 20 years since Pixar Studios revolutionized the entertainment world with its first full-length feature Toy Story, which demonstrated that combining state-of-the-art digital animation, big-name stars and exciting storylines could pay off in a big way at the box office.

For the next decade, Pixar established itself as a reliable source of first-class films, including Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouilleand WALL-E. In recent years, however, there has been a bit of grumbling that Pixar lost its golden touch after the glories of Toy Story 3. Cars 2 and Monsters Universitywere major successes, but they were not in a class with the studio's best works and even the beautifully crafted adventure Braveleft some critics under-whelmed.

Happily, somewhere along the line, Pixar definitely got its groove back. Inside Out, a mind-bogglingly delightful comedy with surprisingly serious themes, is an unqualified triumph.

Although it takes place largely inside the turbulent brain of an 11-year-old, Inside Out is certain to captivate moviegoers of all ages with its irresistible combination of sharp jokes, memorable characterizations and sheer wonder.

Like all the best Pixar films, it's full of wit, suspense and intelligence. There's also a masterfully modulated undercurrent of poignancy and melancholy to remind us that adolescence is never the happiest of times, especially when your emotional upheavals are coupled with a radical change of location.  

In the case of our heroine Riley, that's an unexpected relocation from chilly but comfortable Minnesota, where she's a hockey star, to the crowded and confusing streets of San Francisco, where she feels immediately out of place. The majority of the story unfolds inside Riley's mind, where five major emotions alternately clash, cooperate and try to co-exist.

There's the understandably upbeat Joy (played by Amy Poehler), the low-key and often irritating Sadness (played by Phyllis Smith), the easily offended Disgust (playing by Mindy Kaling), the ever-suspicious Fear (Bill Hader) and the short-tempered, literally hot-headed Anger (played by Lewis Black).

Each of them takes a turn controlling Riley's actions and each puts his or her personal touch on her ever-expanding library of memories - that's where Riley's problems begin and where Inside Out transforms from a lively, clever comedy into a genuinely thoughtful examination of how much of what we do or don't do depends on our moods and feelings.

When two of Riley's major emotions are temporarily sidelined, the consequences are startling and slightly heartbreaking. The situation also opens up the opportunity to explore the sparkling labyrinths of Riley's mind, in which nearly forgotten imaginary playmates still roam, a train of thought chugs along throughout the day, dreams are produced in a Hollywood-style studio and all the information and incidents Riley will never need to think about again wind up at the bottom of a vast, dark dump.

The surprises along the way should not be spoiled, so let's just say that Inside Out is part Fantastic Voyage and part psychedelic Magical Mystery Tour. It's a story about emotions that will give your own emotions a fairly rigorous workout - and that's why it works so superbly.

Directors Peter Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen have achieved a marvelous balance of delight and poignancy, humor and heartache. They've made Inside Out one of those rare fantasies that makes us think twice about our place in the real world.

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