Inside Out From Script to Screen

Bill Hader, voice of Fear in Disney Pixar’s Inside Out.

I had so much fun visiting Pixar Animation Studios and learning all about the new movie Inside Out on my recent Disney press trip. The movie fascinates me and I can’t wait to take my family to see it this weekend! It is such a unique idea and unlike any other Pixar or animated movie I’ve ever seen. Your children will be amazed as they follow along with a special girl Riley and her five emotions: Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness.

Co-Director Ronnie del Carmen of Inside Out.

I was able to sit down with Co-Director Ronnie del Carmen and Story Supervisor Josh Cooley to learn all about how they brought Inside Out to life from script to screen. They showed us how the story process works. They take a sequence from the script page to the screen in story boards. It is fascinating the weeks, months and years that are put into these films to make them special for us… our own entertainment!

Story Supervisor Josh Cooley for Pixar’s Inside Out.

We are going to take you back to when Inside Out was just an amazing idea that came to Director Pete Docter. Pete watched as his own daughter turn from a child into a young girl with many different emotions… the emotions we see in the movie. Part of their research for this movie was to go into their own real life experiences which started their storytelling. They each shared stories about their own daughters and lives. That’s why a lot of the moments you see in the movie feel like every family’s story. Inside Out From Script to Screen

So, a screenplay was written by Meg LeFauve (known for The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys and Captain Marvel), Josh Cooley (known for Up and Ratatouille), and Pete Docter (known for Up, Monsters, Inc. and WALL·E). The story process then over time turned into a movie. How do you tell the story process of emotions? That was going to be tough. Inside Out Josh Cooley

One of the things they wanted to do to exercise the concept of what happens inside a persons mind was that it can’t be just inside Riley’s mind. They wanted to find out what would happen if you go inside everybody’s mind and what the emotions do inside our head. How would it look outside? That’s when they started to be able to tell a story. What would the emotions do, what would they say? Those were questions they needed answers to. Inside Out Josh Cooley

In story sessions it’s about being creative but it can’t be just about problem solving. You have to break out of the box. They start to joke around and that’s how things end up in the movie. They would start drawing out the emotions and wanted to show how they would feel by the way they were drawn.

Story Supervisor Josh Cooley for Pixar’s Inside Out.

Josh Cooley was in charge of a team of artists. He said they would have to start drawing emotions that they didn’t even know what they would end up looking like. The animators have to discuss what each emotion will look like which can be a long process in itself. It is best that they make the animations simple to draw because all of the animators have to draw them. He gave us the chance to become our own story artists for a few minutes. Josh taught us how to draw one of their simplest characters Anger with a sharpie and a pad of paper. Of course, Anger is one simple character but think about having to draw him with many different backgrounds and camera movements. Inside Out Josh Cooley

Once they have these drawings complete they pin up the drawings that are done on paper and stand in a room with the director and other creators. This process is the story book drawings, created by Walt Disney himself! They would then pitch the story to everyone in the room. It’s like a little performance, the most exclusive theater, but it’s all about the drawings. They make up the dialogue themselves and put them in order, called a sequence. Ronnie Del Carmen Inside Out

From script to screen is a long process and takes these creators a lot of hard work. Inside Out is an amazing movie we can’t wait for you to see for yourselves! It’s about a movie we’ve all been but never seen before.

MEET THE LITTLE VOICES INSIDE YOUR HEAD JUNE 19TH

Here’s the trailer for Inside Out: