For its 15th theatrical release, Disney’s Pixar computer animation division offered a story about a little girl and the five emotions that live in her head and guide her through her day.
“Inside Out,” released June 19, 2015 — 10 years ago Thursday — got inside the heads of millions of movie goers, becoming Pixar’s third-highest-grossing release and the eighth Pixar film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The Making of 'Inside Out'
Animator Pete Docter had joined Pixar at age 21 and had been assigned to a number of projects. He was a writer for the original “Toy Story” movie and based the character of Buzz Lightyear on himself. He later directed “Monsters, Inc.” in 2001 and “Up” in 2009. He was inspired to pitch “Inside Out” when he noticed a sudden behavior change in his young daughter. Some of his early title ideas included “State of Mind,” “Headquarters” and “Life of Riley.”
Docter and his team came up with 27 emotions but decided to whittle that down to just five for the film. The writers consulted with psychologists to make sure the emotions in Riley’s mind were accurate. Originally, the script had Joy teaming up with Fear to settle young Riley’s emotional state. One day, Docter feared he’d be fired from Pixar and lose his friends. He then realized it was OK for sadness to occasionally be at the controls.
Chris Pratt, Michael Cera and Adam Devine were considered for the part of Fear. The role went to comedian Bill Hader, who had played a couple of minor roles in “Monsters University.” Considered for the lead role of Joy were Mandy Moore, Joan Cusack, Kristin Chenoweth, Tina Fey and Lisa Kudrow. The production team talked Hader into approaching his former “Saturday Night Live” colleague Amy Poehler to play Joy.
Bryan Cranston and Joe Pesci were considered to provide the voice of Anger, but when Docter had pitched the film to Pixar chief John Lasseter, he had said, “Imagine the fun we’re going to have when it comes to casting! We could get people like Lewis Black to play Anger!” Pixar sent Black a box of movies and a letter that suggested that he may not be familiar with Pixar. “Which meant they were crazy or thought I was just some recluse,” Black said.
Producers considered hiring Robin Williams, James Woods, Billy Crystal, Adam Sandler, Dave Chappelle and Jim Carrey to play the tragic character of Bing Bong. The role went to Richard Kind, who had voiced characters in four previous Pixar films: “A Bug’s Life,” “Cars,” “Toy Story 3” and “Cars 2.” Kind says he cried when filming during the “Take her to the moon for me, okay?” scene. And the cast and crew cried as well.
Disgust was originally going to be male but that changed. Anna Kendrick, Jennifer Tilly and Halle Berry were up for the role, but Docter eventually settled on Mindy Kaling, who said she was moved to tears by the script. “I think its great that you guys are making a film that shows it’s difficult to grow up, and that it’s okay to be sad about it.” Docter and his producer, Jonas Rivera, looked at each other and said, “Quick! Write that down!”
Box Office Performance of All Pixar Releases
Worldwide gross box office receipts, not adjusted for inflation
Pixar’s 2025 offering — a science fiction/fantasy story, “Elio” — will be released Friday.