Inside Out: what age is it for?
In France, zinema would say 7.
Alone, or with you
Alone from 6; from 5, with an adult or by talking about it afterwards.
What it's about
When 11-year-old Riley moves to a new city, her Emotions team up to help her through the transition. Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness work together, but when Joy and Sadness get lost, they must journey through unfamiliar places to get back home.
Why 6
- Sadness is the whole pointThis is a film about a child who is unhappy and cannot say why. There is real crying, long quiet stretches, and a stretch where nothing inside her works anymore. It ends warmly, but the middle sits with the sad feeling instead of chasing it away, and some children need a hand on the shoulder there.shown
- Being lost and aloneBig chunks of the story take place far from home, in dark corners of the mind, with a child figure alone in the shadows and calls for help that go unanswered for a while. Several scenes stay dim for a long time, including near the end.shown
- One genuinely frightening cornerAround the middle there is a growling presence in a walled off part of the mind, plus faces twisted in panic and a few loud shouts. It is short and treated with humor, but it is the moment younger viewers remember.shown
- Fast, busy, and loud in burstsThe pace is quick, with lots of shouting matches, a fire and explosion or two inside the imagination world, and some pushing and scuffling between the emotions. It plays as comedy, not as real violence, but it is a lot of noise for a small child.shown
What the movie brings
- It gives children words for what they feel: joy, fear, anger, disgust, and above all sadness.
- It shows that crying is not a failure, and that being sad is sometimes how you ask for help.
- It is one of the kindest films about moving, changing schools, and missing an old life.
Watching it together
Tell them at the start that the little characters live inside Riley's head, so the scary bits are feelings, not real monsters, and stay close when she runs away.
at 6 and up
Which emotion do you think was in charge of you today?
See the facts
A zinema reading from September 8, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made