The genius and the flaws of beloved animation giant Pixar's latest film, Pete Docter's "Inside Out," both derive from exactly the same source: the film's vertiginously high concept. Imagining a "Herman's Head"-style universe in which every person (and as the brilliantly funny end credits suggest, every dog and cat too) is governed by a command center crew made up of their five essential emotions, the film, like so many childhood classics, is an extended metaphor for bittersweet process of growing up and espouses some surprisingly complex philosophies on that topic, amid all the sweet, goofy gags.
But to get there, and to create the framework within which to deliver the desired thrills and spills, requires a lot of set up and exposition, which contributes to a voiceover-heavy introduction, and occasional pauses in the action while a character delivers a gobbit of explanation. It can feel didactic in a way that the let-the-pictures-tell-the-story elegance of...
