A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing InsideOut Director Peter Docter and Producer Jonas Rivera during my trip to San Francisco.
I could tell that they would be a fun pair to interview from the moment they came into the room, they were so fun and upbeat and ready for whatever we threw at them! Of course, the first question on everyone’s mind was is there going to be a second Inside Out?
Jonas Rivera jumped on that one explaining that although they really loved the world they created with Inside Out, that they had spent five years of their lives making the film and that they were ready for something completely new, and as Pete chimed in “we already got some ideas.” So the answer is, never say never, but not in the immediate future.
So about that next project, for the studio it is The Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory, plus according to Pete and Jonas, seven or eight in various stages of development and production. For Peter and Jonas, they are the very early development stage where they are doing some research on some ideas but they were mum on the rest of the info
We wondered if they had one character that they could relate to the most from Inside Out. They both agreed that it depended on the day and the situation but that most of the time it was Joy. They explained that Pixar was a great place to work and filled with very positive people so Joy was what they experienced the most, and maybe occasionally Anger, said in jest by Peter.
The success of Inside Out is HUGE so we wondered how that affected both Peter and Jonas, like how they reacted to the success of it when it took off. Pete said he knew that he liked it, but as far as if the viewers would he was really in the dark. The important thing is, they both believed in it regardless but seeing it be a worldwide sensation was deeply satisfying.
“Everybody has the same emotions. So we were hoping that it’s a fairly universal idea.” ~ Peter Docter
The idea of how they depicted the brain was interesting and Peter explained that the first concept was to create it like a control room. Then they delved into the geography of the mind, thinking about it like an amusement park, specifically Disneyland and how there are different regions, and there’s a train.
The movie is so successful and such a wonderful tool for parents to use with their kids to open up and talk feelings. Peter explained that they’ve had a couple of experiences where children with autism have really loved this film and have been able to use the characters to help them express themselves.
Jonas told us how his children love the move so much that they also use the characters to express how they are feeling, like she will where a certain character on her socks depending on her mood.
Peter went on to discuss the layout of the brain, “We tried things hanging from like a biosphere domes, all sorts of things till finally basically we realized what’s really at stake in this film is Riley’s personality you know. That’s the thing that we as parents value without we don’t want our kids to change because we love who they are. And so we needed some way to physicalize that. And then the islands kind of came in. Tthe story and the environment were so connected that it was frustratingly fluid for production.”
In the end, Inside Out came from an amazing idea that they were confident they could create a story behind and with the help of an amazing cast, in-house and on screen, they did just that. As for the future of the film, they don’t see an immediate sequel, but both Peter and Jonas can definitely see it fitting into a theme park and they like to dream about what it could be.
Get Inside Out on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere now and on Blu-ray Combo Pack on November 3rd!
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Disclosure: I was provided with an all-expense trip to San Francisco by Walt Disney Studios to attend various events. All opinions are 100% my own.
Dianna Ranere