Inside Out: Is Joy the VILLAIN? - Wisecrack Edition 

omg i just realized when sadness touches the happy memories they're becoming nostalgia

if u look closely you'll realize that joy is only in control during childhood. They showed anger being in control inside the father's head, and sadness in control in mom's head, disqust in pizza worker, fear inside cool girl's mind

Wasn't this the whole point of the movie? You can't be happy all the time and that you need to embrace all your emotions?

I think this is a common problem with society. Everyone seems to think joy is the only emotion we should ever feel, but all emotions are equal, necessary and add depth to life

People don't realise how much damage they do by trying to prevent all negative emotions especially with our children. I try to handle my children's negative emotions by reminding them that their emotions are there's to feel. There's nothing wrong with being mad or sad sometimes, but there is a right way and a wrong way to express and handle those feelings.

what if san francisco is the villain

I really think you can't couch Inside Out in the "Hero/Villian" binary of storytelling. Ultimately I think it's one of those "man vs self" stories - a coming of age tale where the character ultimately learns an important lesson about themselves over the course of the story.

I hated Joy so much. The way she trivialized Sadness infuriated me the whole movie. The realization at the end wasn't enough to make up for that to me.

I guess in a way joy is both the hero and the villain. She wants what's best for Riley but she gets it wrong. Sadness being drawn to those memories is Riley's way of Turing those memories into sad/depressed ones but joy refuses to let sadness do that which causes her spiralling out of control and almost losing herself.... This movie is so amazing. It's so different from any other movie. It's so funny and clever and makes your heart break all within that hour and some.

finally, someone who understands that Sadness wasn't a jerk, she was just trying to DO HER JOB.

Yes, Joy is wrong, but you can't really call her a villain. Throughout Riley's life, every emotion wanted Riley to feel happy. The other emotions, including Sadness, allowed Joy to take the wheel and lead the way most of the time. When Sadness's actions began causing unexplained problems during the worst possible time, naturally being the one everyone looked to, Joy said "Don't touch anything until we figure this out." Sadness disobeyed, and Joy reacted to the situation. Her actions were self-serving, yes, but again, all the emotions wanted Riley to feel happy so they would be just as guilty. The only time Joy does anything that seems villainous is when she genuinely abandons sadness. If we go down this route, we actually paint the mom as the villain. Joy was actually learning to let the other emotions take over until the mom points out how thankful she is that Riley was able to keep a smile on her face. But again, do we really call someone a villain just because they unintentionally create a problem? The antagonist of the movie is life itself, both for Riley and for the emotions.

Not everything has a villain. There are conflicts sure, but not always a villain. Yes, Joy creates the conflict, but nothing about her makes her a 'villain'. She is conquering a flaw she has. It revolves around a personal internal conflict she has as a character.

after viewing all the inside commentary of the film makers, the conclusion i draw from Inside Out is this simplified 1. joy is undoubtably the bad guy 2. joy doesnt know it, shes just trying to overachieve in her job 3. every adults emotions actually discuss what to do, where joy in Riley just dictates everyone, which is representative of Rileys own naievity and simplistic decision making indicitive in emotionally driven kids 4. nobody defends Sadness at any point, everyone just accepts that Sadness is pushed away by force. We see this manifest in the real world when Rileys mom asks her to be happy in liu of being sad. Therefore the parents are likely very much at fault for perpetuating a "sadness is bad" american dream thing 5. Rileys parents are in no way crappy. We see time and time again how supportive of Rileys growth and interests theyve been, how "for there" theyve been (such as when she lost that hockey game Sadness reminices about) and that her needs are fulfilled at all times, and grows into a wonderful person. The only time any of this changed is when the dad tries to scale up his professional life, likely striving to provide an even better life for his family and unfortunately hit a couple roadblocks along the way in due no fault of his own. 6. Imagine how different the movie would have been, how different it would have looked if the move went smoothly? Rileys clearly never had to deal with so much going wrong all at once, but it's not like their stuff is gone or destroyed, it just got delayed, forcing the entire family to live a couple days without the things to help improve the dreariness of their surroundings

Sadness can help you become happy.

One of the great things that makes Pixar films different from Disney films is that they don't always have to have a villain. We are all the heroes and villains of our own stories. Having both in one character makes this film extra sophisticated.

My Dad once told me that happiness and having fun aren't the same thing. Working a job might not always be fun, but being productive and being rewarded for your productivity can lead to being truly happy.

Can't enjoy the sunshine without rainy days

It never really occurred to me how much society tries to push people to not accept negative emotions before I watched this video

God yes, I fucking hated Joy for this very same reason, she was trying to make it look as if being happy all the time is mandatory and pther emotions should not exist, I hate the kind of people that won't allow sadness or anger

The scene when Riley finally cries is a heartbreaking moment, I think we all have that moment when we can’t pretend to be happy anymore and let our true emotions come through

Sadness is the true hero in this movie

1:20 anger gets shit done lol

Now that I've watched this video, here are my immediate rebukes. 1) Bing Bong's decision to sacrifice himself to help Joy get out of the Memory Dump was fueled by his realization and acceptance of the fact that Riley was done with him, and he made the decision before Joy could could have any say in the matter. 2) Joy being antagonistic towards Sadness stemmed from the fact that, for most of the movie, Joy had absolutely no idea how important Sadness is, a fact that was made clear within the first five minutes of the movie. This fact was present because Joy only looked at the direct effects Sadness had on Riley, and not the the indirect effects on the people around Riley, so it's more a case of ignorance rather than actual malice that was designed to be a jab at things that go on in real life. 3) At least Joy wasn't a, "Let me handle everything," type of control freak. Hey, she DID manage to figure out how to fit Fear, Disgust, and Anger into her plan for the first day of school.

Anger : "Let's use that curse word we know. It's a good one!" Anger gets sh!t done! Also, it's an actual quote in the movie!

Before watching, based on the title alone, I agree Joy ys the villain of the story and that is how I have always seen it. She single handedly repressed Sadness (trapped her in the circle, didnt allow her to dk anything, forced her to read repeatedly the same user manuals, etc.) and destroyed the islands of personality when she lost the memories. Then she blames Sadness for everything. Let's see the video and see if you can reinforce this idea or if you will sway me to see other points of view ☺

Joy didn't kill Bing Bong. Bing Bong sacrificed himself.

She is not a villian, she is a hero at fault, who learns the error of her ways.

it can't just be me that thought joy was the villain before watching this

Joy didn't accidentally kill Bing-Bong. He sacrificed himself.

If anything, Joy just kind of annoyed me. I went to high school with girls like her, and it was absolutely obnoxious.

I thought the same thing about Joy when I saw the movie. She reminded me of "that person" at work that often works in HR; she's overly cheerful, but that happy facade reveals someone that's overly controlling and egotistical. Everyone finds her annoying, but they don't dare say it to her face.

Joy is the actual villain cause she thinks she is the main emotion and she tries to get rid of the other emotions

As an antagonist, Joy isn't necessarily a _villain_, but more of a tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WellIntentionedExtremist

3:05 This is a common misconception. It's believed that people seek therapy and go on medication because they're just not "happy". While many people often seek therapy because they are unsatisfied with their lives, just about every mental health professional would tell you that it is unrealistic to expect to be happy all of the time. Therapists help us rationalize and cope with both negative and positive emotions, and medication stabilizes the fluctuation of mood in those that need it. Drugs are not prescribed arbitrarily to keep us from experiencing sadness. They are not prescribed to numb the population or stifle creativity. They are for people with unstable neurochemistry. While I do agree that there is a huge societal pressure "just be happy" and a negative stigma on mental illness, blaming the mental health field is simply inaccurate.

the biggest problem with this video is that it tries to cast someone as the "villain", or someone to blame. but there is no true villain in Inside Out. There is only the changes that Riley is dealing with, as well as a set of unfortunate events that makes the situation worse. but as we all know, shit happens.

When I first watched the movie in my mind I was yelling at joy the entire time like OMG NO STOP I ALREADY SEE WHAS GOING ON HERE and NO UR MAKING IT WORSE GENIUS

Joy isn't the villain. She is not evil nor have evil ambitions (which defines a villain). She just wants Riley to have a fulfilling life. And by that she initially thought it includes suppressing negative emotions, sadness in particular (which would have dire consequences later on). It makes sense because the society we live in today also misinterpret sadness (and other negative emotions) as an "illness" or simply a "bad thing". Some of us, if not all are like this too, its becoming a norm to not accept any negative emotion. It also makes sense for Joy to lead most of the time (making her look selfish), because being happy most of your life is a path to a healthy and fulfilling life. However, that does not mean one should deny negative emotions - a mistake Joy initially did which she later corrected it.

"happiness is like glass at time you don't even notice you are happy. it is only when we look back see things from a deferent light do we see we were happy." a paraphrase of code geass

At about 3:10 I thought about EVERY DAY. If I don't laugh or look or act haapy my classmates and teachers think there's something wrong with me. Once I even had to see a school psychiatrist because someone HIT me and I hit him back. because I didn't start laughing or just letting it be I had to see someone. I was 8 btw. That boy didn't even get punished. I just wanted to say that

Sadness understands that many things aren't just one emotion, when happiness lets her be her you get memories with multiple colours.

We need sadness in our lives, otherwise happiness is just a blank meaningless feeling to have. You have nothing to be happy about. You're hungry, you're sad. Or pissed depending on who you are You eat, you're happy because you overcome sadness It's like video games or movies. You ain't gonna be happy automatically beating it or seeing the ending or you just won't get it

When I watched inside out I had the vibe that Joy was an asshole, especially after the bit when she made Sadness stand in the circle of sadness

Very excellent analysis! I personally hate how so many people around me just can't let me feel a certain way because I simply must brush absolutely everything off and keep on going. However I'm aware that there is a need to feel things like sadness and anger. I'll completely destroy myself if I just put on a smile for everything that comes my way, I'll end up having a complete mental breakdown later on down the road.

tbh, joy is like my main emotion, then second is fear. i don't usually get sad because i literally just love my life but sometimes i cry because i procrastinate too much and the reason why i would be a janitor when i grow up :)

Hahaha the angsty dope fight club part

I remember the parents being controlled by singular emotions: The mother had multiple sadness homonculi controlling her and the father was all anger people. She is not ruled by those emotions like her parents so Joy is not a tyrant, just the dominant one (big difference). If Joy is the antagonist, which is reaching big time because she is the only emotion with an arc; then who is the protagonist? Discuss...

That cinnamon toast crunch thing scared the sh#t out of me..

I absolutely loved your take on this. It feels like you took the thoughts from my head and put them in a video. My 5yo and I only just saw this movie over the weekend. Loved it so much that my son begged me to watch it again. I read so many reviews that people hated this movie, and I think that's because they didn't get the message. As a soon-to-be therapist, I doubly appreciate you putting this out there.

I enjoyed the discussion, but I do not think the main character is a villain. Aren't many stories about a main character who is a fuck-up and an idiot, and the journey is about how they grow up from that and fix their own mistakes?

Except psychiatric medicine does not make you happy, it gives you the ability to be happy. A depressed person is not super extra sad; they cannot be happy. These drugs literally save lives, and I hate how stigmatized it is to "take fake happy pills" when that isn't even what they are.

Exactly! I also didn't like how joy behaved like she was the only important emotion. Great video, thank you :)

Thanks so much for the vid!! Makes a whole lotta sense. I was concerned for this character Joy and her influence and impact. A friend watching with me said, “Wow, even Joy can feel sadness.” I was reminded that only through acknowledging certain emotions do we learn and grow in a healthy way.

I think society doesn't expect happiness from us so much as it expects us to be _functional_ - when you're happy you're doing your job and contributing, whereas if you're *too* angry or *too* sad you aren't and may even be disrupting others. Heck, people who are miserable but functional are technically contributing just as much as a happy person because they do their work, keep their mouths shut about any injustices society inflicts upon them and consume potentially _more_ in order to "fill the hole" that their misery is causing. The need to seem happy is, I think, actually based in fear of society rejecting you as nonfunctional or disruptive and replacing you with someone who isn't; hence in the film Riley's mom telling her to seem happy so as not to distract her father.

Joy being the cause of the problems does not inherently make her a villain.

My friends tell me to be happy, but I always reply that in order for a person to live a full-life you need to feel all emotions, we are not mindless dolls with a painted smile. We need other emotions. Thanks for bringing up these statements thanks for telling who the real bad guy is.

Joy is both the protagonist and the antagonist of the movie. The conflict in Inside Out isn't about "man against man", but "man against himself". The movie is about Joy's internal conflict.

am I the only one who always hated Joy?

What I don't get is that Joy is like the only "positive" emotion. Like, where's love or pleasure or curiosity or excitement or fun or interest or amazement or ?

She's not the "villain", she's simply a representation of the fact that society expects us to be happy all the time, which you also touch upon. In the end of the movie (if I remember correctly), she realises that it's okay to have other emotions. She's not evil, she's just ignorant at the beginning of the movie when Riley is still young, but gets more mature as Riley grows up.

This just increased my appreciation for this movie tenfold. Actually, I think I might watch again after this. Thank you for this video!

One time (on my birthday) I was sad cause I hate celebrating it, but my mum and grandma were already coming so I was fine then. Then my uncle auntie cousins and siblings came over. I was crying and hid in my room. My mum came in and told me it was my birthday so I should be grateful and I was making everyone else feel miserable and that I should at least look like I'm having fun. This just made me mad because they should feel miserable, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't have been crying. I don't like my family much or socialising, celebrating my birthday and surprises. It was my worst birthday ever.

Joy is the villain, but it's because she belittles, shuns, and openly mocks someone (Sadness) for being different. Sadness doesn't do anything wrong yet she is hated by Joy. In fact, Sadness is right for most of the movie. She's doing the correct actions, she knows where to go, she knows what to do, but Joy won't listen. Joy is still friends with Anger, Fear, and Disgust (all emotions that would ruin the happiness of a situation), but Sadness is forced to sit in the back where she "belongs". Joy is just a terrible person.

You don't talk about fight club!!

Saying that Joy is the villain in Inside Out for this reason is like saying Marlin is the villain in Finding Nemo for being too protective.

Depression, the mental illness occur because of the imbalance of hormone level in the brain. So it is necessary for people who have depression, to take drugs to help with depression. Not confuse depression the sickness with depression the mood.

Joy didn't kill bing bong. he sacrificed himself.

I felt that Joy is a misguided aspect of Riley's own personality. and Riley is an impressionable young child who's going through the troubles of growing up and learning to understand her emotions. All children must learn that it's okay to be sad, angry, disgusted or fearful or else they won't really be free to experience joy.

Love that you guys are so keen on audiobooks. It becomes a bit of a running gag when you do it in person, this frequently, and to a limited audience.. i keep insisting though. thanks!

No. Joy isn't the bad guy because the movie doesn't have a bad guy - as Thomas Schatz would say - it's not a movie about contested space, it's an integration type movie (two different characters learn to live together, like a rom-com)

Anyone wondering during the film why they couldn't just put all the memories in a recall tube?

Matpat from Game Theory sent me, told me to let you know

I thought this the very first time I watched the film but never told anyone because I thought it'd be too complicated to explain (because I have before the film tried to tell people that I see the good in every emotion I feel from dancing around my room singing love songs to crying in bed all night, and nobody truly understood what I meant) but you seemed to sum it up pretty well so thanks! You've earned a new sub! :)

The way you're asking me to re-watch Inside Out was the way I originally watched it. Before I was halfway through it I saw Joy, not as the villain, but moreso as a terrible individual.

I agree with this video. Joy was pretty unfair to poor sadness; she might be the 'leader' but she acted more like a dictator, especially towards Sadness who basically had to stay in one spot without doing anything! thankfully she learned from her mistakes, otherwise Inside Out would have been a much darker movie.

You guys are talking about this like that wasn't the entire point of the movie. This was literally the ENTIRE POINT.

I like that way. I freakin hate it when I make a comment about somthing, and when it is not a happy comment, but rather a very cynical one I get hated on, that I am just a sad person who should get help. In my opinion this whole world is pretty sad, and pretty much has a huge absense of happiness, where it actually is a luxuary. I hate it when everything gets sugarcoated, and put in a light of pure happiness, when in fact you have to close your eyes from so much to see that happiness. Don't get me wrong. I do not seek to be sad or cynical, but I just hate to lie to myself, and when things are sad or I am too I will not make it look happy so the mood does not fall apart.

daaaaaaaaamn. THIS. This is the reason i subscribed to wisecrack.Good shit man!

Ive always known Joy is the bad guy

I don't really be happy too often. I'm mostly just angry, exited, or sad. and in my opinion, exitement is a different emotion than joy,

joy was the villan she was hogging everything we should sometimes be sad tho

The problem with casting Joy as the accidental villain because of the "happiness industry" is that Riley wasn't told "you need to be happy". She was told "thank you for trying to stay positive despite our week being crappy". She internalized the idea that she needed to put on a happy facade, but it wasn't beaten into her head every other scene. At the end of the film when Riley finally let her sadness take over, she cried because she missed what in her mind was her true home, not their material possesions. Additionally, the film was obviously a metaphor for the onset of puberty, a time in our lives when our emotions grow and become more complex. To a child, happiness is the only emotion that's worth feeling, but as her mother and father's minds demonstrate, sadness (empathy) and anger (justice) can lead the mind in cooperation with the other emotions to create stability. Also, idk if you noticed, but the metaphor was deconstructed even more by the fucking "puberty" button.

Wow, this video will always be in my "memory"

Joy is the embodiment of Seratonin and Dopamine which are the brain's chemicals that say, 'it's okay to stop hiding, the saber toothed tiger is gone and you can relax and be happy now.' She's not a nazi, she's a hippie. Who has a lot of enthusiasm because she runs the childhood. If you'll notice the adults are missing a Joy character, or the Joy character has taken a subordinate roll to Sadness or Anger.

the Joy in my mind laughs maniacally especially when misfortune befalls my enemy's... I my self am a tad manic as well.

Joy is not the villain from Inside Out, Jangles the Clown is.

Even within the logic of the film, without considering the external causes of "unhappiness " and the "happiness industry," Joy essentially wants the girl to remain emotionally stunted. I always saw the film's basic message as being, growing up brings with it much more emotional complexity and it's healthy to be sad or angry or afraid sometimes.

the train of thought while i watched this: 1. whaaat? joy cant be the antagonist she is the protagonist 2. well she did start all the conflict in the movie 3. it all makes sence now 4. wisecrack are geniuses

This video turned out to be way deeper than I expected. A very useful watch.

I didn't think there was a bad or good 'guy' in this one. I thought that it was just a narrative about emotional states in relation to the life you don't know yet, until it happens.

Alternative Inside Out ending: Sadness and Joy don't make it in time, and Riley starts living out on the streets doing drugs

That's why I like to be semi angry and sour, but optimistic with a touch of realism and dark humor and a smile for everyone :D It helps to zone out quite a bit, too. And fuck happiness, it isn't real, only the moment, and the moment has a bit of everything, including joy (temporary joy). Meh, I don't even know what I'm talking about...

2:06 "Riley's *crappy* family?!" I would have loved for my parents to be half as supportive as they were😭

Well, yeah, That's how I interpreted the movie in the first place, But I wouldn't call Joy a Villain; after all, she was making honest mistakes, she thought she was doing the right thing. Joy represents the part of Riley that swallowed that philosophy of forcing happiness at every moment. I felt that there's no need for a villain or a hero. All te characters are trying to manage a difficult life situation as they can; making mistakes, learning. That's what I like the most. Kind of like Miyazaki's films, In which he represents the opposing characters as humans, with motivations, feelings and points of view, just like the main characters. That sort of story feels more real, in a sense, for me. Great video.

i fucking hated joy when I watched it

Joy didn't kill Bing Bing he fell of the wagon so Joy could make it

Wow! Thank you, Wisecrack, for your thoughtful and in-depth analysis. I appreciate your researched opinion and how cleverly you presented it. Well done.

Honestly, I think this film is way too complex to have traditional heroes and villains. I think that's part of the point, that emotions and people can't be distilled into such one dimensional forms of thought. Seeing film in a pure binary of good and evil doesn't allow for complex nuances, and it doesn't allow the film's true message to shine out. We are complex beings, and every emotion has its place. There is no true villain, because there are no true villains in life, only situations that don't meet our liking. Riley is the real protagonist of the film, and the inside part is just proving a literalized metaphor for how her emotional journey is playing out. The "villain" of the film is the external circumstance, not any one emotion.

This videos are so much better then the eyebrow-guy-stuff. I hope I am not alone with this ^^

Inside Out - The Short Version: Accept your feelings, deal with / process them, and you'll be ok; not a bad lesson.

Also joy tires to control everything and doesn't even bother finding out why sadness is there