“Good kids’ movies are the ultimate pacifier; it’s a genre of self-reinforcing tropes about self-esteem and positivity built to electrify and calm children and give rest to pooped parents. In his three films at Pixar, Docter has disproved this characterization, not by making his films more adult, as directors like Brad Bird have done, but by imagining the world of childhood in all its psychological complexity. His latest, “Inside Out,” co-written with Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley, animates the emotional life of a young girl, literally. With the film taking place in 11-year-old Riley’s mind, and characters representing her five key emotions, Docter is able to embrace philosophies of children’s development that feel radical in American animation.”

Read more at RogerEbert.com.