“Inside Out” is an emotional movie. (Its sequel is, too — just for different reasons.) Disney Pixar’s internal gut-check of a film hit audiences of all ages in all the feels, leaving them wet-eyed as they processed through pre-teen Riley Anderson’s internal struggles — a journey that is relatable on some level to anyone who calls themselves human. While the movie doesn’t leave a dry eye in the room, it turns out that it could have cranked the waterworks up even higher if one death scene had been allowed to play out as originally planned.
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We’re talking about the tragic ending of one Bing Bong, the fantastical made-up friend from Riley’s childhood, voiced by Richard Kind. In the final version of the movie, Bing Bong realizes that his weight (despite being mostly made of cotton candy) is preventing Joy (Amy Poehler) from escaping the gloomy Memory Dump on his rainbow-powered rocket-wagon. He encourages her to try one more time and then hops off the wagon as it takes off, propelling Joy out of her forgetful prison. She looks back in despair to watch him wave and tell her to “go save Riley” and “take her to the moon for me.” Then, he evaporates, vanishing into thin air like a long-lost childhood memory.
When he was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly, Kind shared that the scene, which is already a minute and a half, or so, long, was actually 40 seconds to a minute longer — and much more gut-wrenching (if that’s even possible) in the original plan. In his own words, Kind said that the scene “was absolutely heartbreaking” and that it was originally supposed to be “40 seconds to a minute longer.” This would have included dialogue that only added fuel to the emotional fire, with Kind adding:
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“When he finally extends his hand and says ‘I’ve got a good feeling about this,’ you had seen a lot more of him during that original scene so that when they’re trying and trying and trying to get back, you understand what he’s going through. You see him get a little desperate. It was a lot sadder.”
Disney Pixar’s creators are capable of (tastefully) going to some really dark places
Pixar has a track record for emotionally exhausting its viewers. The studio knows how to take the lightest of kids’ movies and turn it into a heart-wrenching experience that leaves children and adults alike devastated. One need look no further than the ugly-cry inducing intro to “Up” (which is over five minutes) or the iconic ending of “Toy Story 3” to see how masterfully this studio can emotionally engross its audiences. (What is it with toys and childhood memories that cut us all to the quick?)
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Disney doesn’t have the same consistent track record of emotional success as its Pixar component, but the House of Mouse has had plenty of similar moments with its other IPs. Kinds himself recalled the emotional fallout of “Bambi” when the titular character loses his mother, saying, “We don’t need to see that again.” Another Disney umbrella brand, Marvel Studios, has also had its emotional moments, like the devastating effect that “Avengers: Infinity War” had on audiences back in 2018 or the follow-up one-two gut punch that was the loss of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in “Avengers: Endgame.”
The scariest part is that the end of Bing Bong in “Inside Out” could have been worse. The knowledge that Pixar has the capability to tug so hard on those heartstrings is a warning to all and sundry. When this studio puts out an emotionally sensitive pic (or basically anything remotely connected to childhood or family topics), brace yourself — and when you head to the theater, bring a box of tissues in tow.
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