Inside Out and the Time Pete Docter Wrote Me Back

"Oh, hello! Uh, I'm Joy. So, could I just... If you could... I just wanna fix that. Thanks."

I blame my dad.

At the time, I was working on what would be my third published book. My first spooky book, harking back to my Witches and Coraline loving roots, about a girl whose nightmares start coming to life. My dad asked me about what I was writing. In my earlier writing days I was fiercly stubborn about not bursting the idea bubble until the project was finished, but publishing had forced that habit out of me, and I was trying to a) be brave and b) get better at pitching. So I told him.

My dad thought for a second. I thought he was going to comment on how I was moving in a freaky direction, and ask if I was alright (as a few people have since reading that book lol). But he didn’t.

He said, “Your books are following the emotions. You know, from Inside Out.”

Let me back up for a second. I absolutely have a tendancy to hyperbole (for which I also blame my wonderful dad), but it’s hard for me not to get hyperbolic when talking about Inside Out. If someone asks you which movie affected you more than any other? Is possibly the most life-changing? For me, Inside Out is the first to come to mind.

I’ve seen every Pixar movie on opening day since I was old enough to drive and buy my own ticket. I fell in love with Carl Fredericksen. I felt my my whole worldview validated when it turned out laughter is ten times more powerful than fear. Both Monsters, Inc. and Up!, my two early Pixar favorites, were directed by Pete Docter, so when I saw that his next was on its way I could practically feel the universe telling me that this was gonna be a big one.

And it was.

You guys, I cannot describe to you how vulnerable and mirror-like it felt watching Joy on that screen. I felt both seen and exposed. There I was. That was me. I had people texting me after seeing that movie telling me the same thing. (Sarah! I just saw you in a movie!)

And here’s the thing I always want to make abundantly clear when I admit how much I saw myself in Joy: it was not comfortable.

What I saw were the glaring holes in my personal paradigm. The things I struggled to accept and see. All the things Joy didn’t understand, the things she had to learn, were, to a T, my own flaws. No movie had given me access to my own brain like this had.

Back in that kitchen, talking to my dad, most likely over a bowl of Golden Grahams, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

My first book is about a fiercly optimistic girl who will work as hard as it takes to bring her family Joy.

My second book is about two sisters, one carrying Sadness and depression, the other desperately trying to help her with that load. Above all, this is the book I couldn’t have written without Inside Out. That greying out of the control panel is still the first metaphor that’s really helped me really wrap my own brain around the difference between sadness and depression. And *gulp* yes, the value of sadness.

And that third book that I was working on was my book about Fear. About facing my own nightmares and watching the hero beat them.

And now? My next book is about a boy facing both monsters and his own growing, branching Anger and grief at the loss of his father. I’m not saying I did that deliberately, but I’m not not saying that.

When my dad said what he did, I realized just how much Pete Docter had influenced me, and not just indirectly.

So I wrote to him. I sent him signed copies of my first two books, the ones currently available. I told him how much Inside Out had meant to me and that I wanted to share what I’d written with him because he’d been such a part of my journey in writing them. I didn’t expect anything at all, and wasn’t even sure if the books would reach him.

But guys?

He wrote back.

I’m sure I don’t have to explain how delighted, honored, blown away, and completely, entirely shocked I was when I saw the letter. This little hand-drawn note now lives on my fridge and is one of my most most favorite things. Storytellers are amazing people.

So, obviously I’ve gone and seen Inside Out 2 already. (I saw it day 1.) This is not meant to be about that movie, and I’m not going to say much because I want you to go and have your own experience. I will just say this.

1. Go see it.

2. To Meg LeFauve, Dave Holstein, and the other creators—well done. And thank you.

3. *Gulp* I see myself again, and as much as ever. (Is it coincidence or irony that the other character I’m often aligned with is Leslie Knope? Thanks Amy Poehler).

Anyway, there you have it. Thank you for allowing me this probably self-indulgent little trip of creative analysis and a bit of naval gazing. But I have a question for you—

What movie has been the most impactful for you?

And now…

Let’s talk about our INSIDES!

10 Intriguing Insides!

1. Surprised By Joy

“It was a sensation, of course, of desire; but desire for what?...Before I knew what I desired, the desire itself was gone, the whole glimpse... withdrawn, the world turned commonplace again, or only stirred by a longing for the longing that had just ceased... In a sense the central story of my life is about nothing else... The quality common to the three experiences... is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction. I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again... I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is.”

-C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

2. Osmosis Jones:

Remember that weird 2001 Bill Murray movie, Osmosis Jones? It’s one of the only other movies I can think of that anthropomorphizes cells, bacterium, body parts, and other Inside Us things. For such a weird, long-ago, probably long-forgotten movie, the cast is honestly incredible. Chris Rock, Laurence Fishburn, Brandy. And, my bae, David Hyde Pierce. Apparently they hired him for the roll of the uppity antibacterial pill because he was “the whitest white guy they could find.” Which…fair. As of now, you can watch this free on Roku or Tubi.

3. The Interwhatsium?

One might think that the thing we know the best, the thing we’ve researched the most and explored the furthest, is ourselves. Our own bodies.

And yet…

Scientists have recently discovered an entirely new human organ??

4. The Far Inside

5. Twelve Body Systems Song

If you’re teaching kids (or yourself!) how bodies work, this song is catchy, educational, and adorable.

6. “Tin Woman's Lament,” Yolanda Wisher

i’d rather have

a heart born of the lust

between a sonnet & a blues song

a coleridge-wild weed hoochie coochie heart

a we real cool heart aboard the impossible spawn of slave ships

an undying, maroon eternally brown in the black hills heart

i’d rather

have a heart that beats

that beats

that beats

that beats

that beats

7. What Comes From The Inside…Out…

The amazing

Sarah Miller

recently posted a list of Children's books about poop, pee, and puke and you know how much it delighted me. Check it out :D

8. Hidden (Wax) Figures

“As an anatomist, [Anna] Morandi went where no woman had gone before, helping to usher in a new understanding of the body and developing new techniques for examining organs. She also served as the public face of an unusual scientific partnership with her husband, a sculptor and anatomist.”

9. Adventures On The Alimentary Canal

I’ve loved everything of Mary Roach’s that I’ve read, and this is no exception. She makes the journey down the alimentary canal a straight up rolicking adventure, full of delights and fun gross-outs. The human body deserves the fascination with which Mary writes about it.

10. Teacher Resources

Teachers, librarians, and homeschool parents, I’ve got some fun Inside Out activities and lesson plans for you and your students!

• Top Ten Body Organs for grades 3-6.

• Organ Systems Activity Bundle for grades 7-10.

• Human Organs Cut and Paste Worksheet for grades PreK-3

I would love to do a free virtual Q&A with your class or book group! If you’re interested in scheduling a visit you can reach out to me via my website. Let me know how I can support you! I’ve also got free classroom resources to accompany each book. You guys are rock stars!

Thanks for reading everyone!

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-Sarah

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