On Tuesday June 16th, eager animation fans who wanted to see the latest film from Disney Pixar Inside Out had the opportunity to see the film early via a “special event” screening from Fathom Events. Fathom Events often screen opera or theater productions on the silver screen but this was a notable screening as it was the first time I was aware of them working with a major popular animated film. The Inside Out screening featured “exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from Pixar Animation Studios and a Q&A with director Pete Docter, producer Jonas Rivera and the voice of Joy, Amy Poehler.” Essentially, these were unique offerings that might be expected to be on a DVD release but were prepared ahead of time to give the audience reason to shell out for higher priced tickets.
Unfortunately, considering, the behind-the-scenes look of the Pixar Studios, this “bonus” feature wasn’t optional. A 15-20 minute tour of the studio preceded the screening of Inside Out (and the short Lava). Meeting the people behind the film and seeing the inside of Pixar’s building (named for Steve Jobs) was interesting but not anticipation building for the film the audience were currently about to see. In fact, the most intriguing teasers from the short doc were the brief moments related to future Pixar films, including animators working on The Good Dinosaur and John Lasseter keeping the camera out of a room labeled Toy Story 4. No real information was gleaned for either of those (or for Finding Dory, but it was nice hype and Lasseter seemed fun (if the scene inside his office filled with all manner of Pixar related toys wasn’t enough of a giveaway).
As for the Q&A, well I honestly didn’t stick around for that. It could have been worthwhile as Poehler would be talking about her starring role in the film. But after the above clip added time to my night and a glitch (at my particular screening) resulted in the digital picture being dropped (and a “projectionist” needing to be summoned to eventually “rewind” the film near a climactic point at the end), I didn’t want to stick around beyond two hours. I did walk out with free art prints and a strong desire to see Inside Out again though. Hopefully that clip will make the home video release and that Fathom will provide access to other new mainstream releases (though Jaws on the 21st for its 40th anniversary is pretty cool for cinema fans). Make sure to read PopMatters‘ review of Inside Out here as this is one of the best family films in ages. And go see the movie in theaters beginning Friday June 19th. To find out about the Jaws screening, please visit the Fathom Events site.
