The Pixar Theory

Part #2: how Inside Out fits into the Pixar Theory

A/N: the next two parts of this theory were directly copied and pasted off of his blog. Please enjoy and a big shoutout to Jon Negroni!!

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THE SET UP.

Inside Out is the story of a young girl struggling to grow up, seen through the eyes of her emotions as literal beings. Yes, Pixar made a movie where feelings have feelings.

The movie opens with the birth of Riley Anderson. The first thing you may notice is that she shares the same last name as Bonnie Anderson from Toy Story 3 and the subsequent shorts based on that movie. That may tempt you into believing that Riley and Bonnie are connected somehow, but that's definitely not the case.

Pixar named Bonnie after two people: Bonnie Hunt (a frequent voice actor for the Pixar films) and Darla K. Anderson, the producer of Toy Story 3. Darla actually has easter eggs for her name dating all the way back to A Bug's Life, where you can catch her first name on a box in "Bug City."

At any rate, we learn early on that Riley grew up in Minnesota, but her family moves to San Francisco when she's 11 years old. Now it's true that, around the corner from Andy, and Tri-County does take place in the Bay Area of California. But that's really just a coincidence. Riley's family never mentions that they have relatives around, and they only moved to San Francisco for her dad's job. For that reason, all signs point to this being a coincidence. It's not like "Anderson" is a unique last name (no offense, Darla).

WHEN DOES THE MOVIE TAKE PLACE?

Moving on, we get to know Riley through a montage of her early life. When we get to the point where she's 11, it appears to be modern day. Much of the technology we see throughout the movie - like a Skype surrogate that closely resembles the one used by Trixie in Toy Story 3 and the presence of smartphones - point to this being a film set in 2015.

That means the movie really opens in either 2003 or 2004, depending on Riley's birthday. Interestingly, that would mean the movie opens during the same year as Finding Nemo.

We also know that this has to be some time after 2007, which is when Ratatouille takes place. In fact, Inside Out actually confirms that Ratatouille takes place in 2007 instead of 2004, which is a conundrum I ran into while writing the book. It's all based on the blurry date seen on Gusteau's will and...eh, don't worry, it's not important.

Anyway, the reason we know that this is some time after Ratatouille is because you can see Colette Tatou on the cover of a magazine in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it easter egg. Judging by the prestige of this magazine, Colette has done well for herself during her years learning from Remy and working at La Ratatouille, the bistro she started with him and Linguini.

After all, why would she be on the cover a magazine before her adventures in Ratatouille? Before she met Linguini, she was just a hardworking chef trying to build a career at a failing restaurant. I find it much more plausible that she's created a name for herself in recent years.

(DONALD GLOVER VOICE) MY EMOTIONS!

So as we get to know Riley in the film's early montage, we meet her emotions. The film immediately takes us inside her head, where we watch Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger team up to influence Riley's actions. They work in "Headquarters" (get it?) and use a mysterious console to control Riley's decisions.

When an emotion manages to elicit a meaningful experience in real life, a memory is generated and sent to Riley's long term memory. If it's a specifically powerful experience, then it will create a core memory that will stay in Headquarters.