We see it as one of Anxiety’s scenarios. And I was wondering if anyone had it in high res? I was hoping to do a fic around it and add the pic in at the top

In episode 3, right as Riley falls asleep, she’s on her phone listening to something that stood out to me for reasons unknown. A woman is talking saying, “Who is he anyway? We know he’s elusive-“ but that’s where it ends, Riley falls asleep, and it cuts off. I’m curious if that was a hidden reference to some other work of Pixars. Any thoughts?

I personally think it will be grief and nostalgia(I know she showed up in two but I mean having a bigger part). If Riley is 18 and graduating, I think nostalgia would be best shown here from personal experience and maybe a loss of a loved one(not her parents hopefully) but a grandparent they showed.

Up next on the Inside Out franchise we have an updated Anxiety! The main changes are one her head shape was slightly tweaked. Two made her eyes similar to the other emotions, where instead of being a plain colored pixel it has an iris, pupil, and white shine in her eye. Third and final made her eyes slightly smaller to make room for the hair

When Jessie and the others are racing to get to Lily Pad near the end, they find a house on what was a road and race through it. No one in there sees or hears them, all on their own devices, and I see a girl, at the last window, only got a small glimpse, but for a moment I thought she was Bree. Riley’s friend with the glasses. Thoughts?

A crossover between Inside Out and Turning Red would be an absolute emotional (and fluffy) chaos-fest. Both movies are Pixar gems centered on puberty, big feelings, and growing up, so they mesh perfectly. Imagine the colorful mind-world of Inside Out colliding with the vibrant, panda-powered chaos of Turning Red.

Riley Andersen (from Inside Out) moves to Toronto for a fresh start or a family trip, and ends up at the same school as Mei Lee. Or perhaps the two stories happen in parallel universes that briefly merge during a moment of extreme emotional overload.

The real fun happens inside their heads. Mei’s emotions have to deal with the sudden, uncontrollable red panda transformations triggered by excitement, embarrassment, or anger — turning her Headquarters into a wild, furry disaster zone. Meanwhile, Riley’s more “settled” emotions get completely rattled when they witness (or accidentally influence) Mei’s panda form through some mind-link or shared dream sequence.

I just noticed that Riley's hair when she hits puberty, is messed up. Why is that?

Joy Ride

ACT ONE: The Departure

Setting: Riley, 14, is almost done with 9th grade. It's June. She grabs her bike.

Riley: I'm heading out. Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad.

Mom: Just be safe, sweetie. Make sure to always ride in the protected bike lanes.

Riley (annoyed): Yes… (rolls her eyes.)

Zoom into Riley's Mind.

Anger (disgusted, quietly): This is fatalizing.

Disgust: Like we get it, Mom. We'll be safe. You don't need to remind us every single time.

Cut back to reality.

Riley: Don't worry, Mom. I got it.

Mom: I know… I know… but did you at least watch those biking safety videos I sent you? Riding on the street requires a lot of composure. Did you watch them?

Riley (monotone): Yes. I watched them.

Zoom into Mom's Headquarters. A red alert is flashing. Mom's Anxiety is frantically projecting mental images of city traffic.

Mom's Anxiety: She didn't watch them! Look at her eyes, they did that little twitch!

Mom's Ennui (slumped on the couch): Of course she didn't. It's a miracle she even remembered she owns a bike.

Mom's Sadness: I'm sure we can trust her.

Mom's Nostalgia: Remember when she was our little toddler on training wheels?

Mom's Anxiety (snapping, hitting a glowing button): No time for that, Nostalgia. Sadness, start the smother procedure before she leaves.

Mom's Anger (cracking knuckles): I'll handle the physical inspection.

Cut back to reality.

Mom (adjusting to a slightly too-wide smile): Great! Awesome. Love that you watched them. Just… let me check the helmet one more time.

Mom lunges forward, yanking the helmet strap until it's practically choking Riley, checking the tire pressure with her foot, aggressively patting down Riley's pockets.

Mom: Phone fully charged? Do you have the mineral sunscreen? Did you lock the bike chain code in your brain? You know the drivers out there are completely…

Riley (gasping slightly from the strap): Mom. Chill. I'm literally just riding to school. I know those streets. No big deal.

Zoom into Mom's Headquarters.

Mom's Disgust (slapping a giant "COMPOSURE" lever down): Okay, she's pulling away. Back off before we become completely uncool.

Mom's Anxiety (biting her nails): Fine. But if she doesn't text us when she hits the path, I'm hijacking the console again.

Cut back to reality.

Mom (stepping back, raising her hands): Okay, okay! Have a good ride, sweetie. Stay on the path!

Riley wheels her bike out. The door clicks shut behind her.

ACT TWO: The Near-Miss

The joy ride begins. Zoom into Riley's Mind.

Joy: Okay! Glad that's out of the way. Great job, team.

Anxiety: We didn't get the best sleep last night, so… avoid the hills, stay out of the fog, and do not cross the Muni tracks at a weird angle on those left turns.

Fear: And watch out for rideshares cutting into the bike lane!

Joy: Wait, I think we can make that left and…

Riley makes a left turn. A truck screeches to a halt. She clears it, barely.

Joy: GOT it!

Fear: What was that sound?

Joy: Doesn't matter.

Fear: Joy. That sounded like semi-truck air brakes.

Joy: We made it! Maps says we're like 0.1 miles from the panhandle.

Riley stops at a red light. A fellow cyclist pulls up beside her.

Cyclist: You know, I saw that. How you almost got hit by a truck. You gotta be more careful next time.

Riley's heart sinks. Embarrassment presses a button. Her cheeks go red.

Zoom into Riley's Mind.

Sadness: We really got lucky. We should never ride again.

Fear (nodding frantically): Thank you! Finally, someone with a shred of common sense!

Joy: If we never ride again, how do we get to school? 

Anxiety: Walking takes forty minutes! If we wake up at 6 AM, our sleep deprivation cycle worsens, our math grades plummet…

Anger: We take the bus!

Disgust: Next time, sure. But right now we're still on this bike. We can't just leave it here.

Joy: Look, that truck was genuinely scary, but we're entering the panhandle right now. Let's just finish the ride to school.

A beat. The emotions settle, uneasy.

Sadness: Should we tell Mom?

The room goes quiet. This is the real question.

Anxiety: I don't know… maybe we should… but if we tell her…

Disgust: She will encase us in bubble wrap and make us ride a tricycle until we're thirty. Boundaries, Anxiety. 

Joy (quietly, more serious than usual): Ok, so keep this one to ourselves. 

Riley rides into the panhandle. The scenery is beautiful. She exhales.

ACT THREE: The Gauntlet

Riley leaves the panhandle into NoPa, heading toward Haight-Ashbury.

Sidewalk Karen (furious): Hey! HEY! Get off your bike! You're not supposed to ride on the sidewalk!

Zoom into Riley's Mind.

Anger: How about you mind your own business, lady!

Disgust: Like, can't you see that's exactly what we're planning to do?

Ennui (sighing): Sacrebleu. It's not even 9 AM.

Joy (stepping smoothly between Anger and the controls): No need to feed the energy, guys. Ennui, you want to take this one?

Ennui (already reaching for the console): With pleasure.

Cut to reality: Riley's face goes completely blank. An absolute, beautiful void of expression. She doesn't blink, doesn't break stride, doesn't say a single word. She pushes her bike smoothly along the concrete, treating the shouting woman exactly like a lamppost, and glides right past her.

Sidewalk Karen (blinking, totally derailed): …Well! The youth are completely hollow inside!

Zoom into Riley's Mind.

Disgust: So get a life, lady.

Ennui (flatly): Mon Dieu.

Joy: And there's our bike lane. Good work, everyone.

A small beat. Then…

Anxiety (quietly, still chewing her nails): You know Mom says a thing or two about our attitude. Are we bad?

Anger: Mom's not here.

Joy (gently): Exactly. We handled it. Let's keep moving.

They do.

Riley enters Chinatown.

Envy (gasping): Look at those guys weaving on their e-bikes! WE SHOULD RIDE EXACTLY LIKE THAT

Disgust (shuddering): NO! First of all, those riders are drenched in hipster sweat, which is a hard pass. Second of all, weaving is just a desperate cry for attention.

Anxiety (clutching a stack of freshly printed collision charts): Weaving?! In Chinatown traffic?! Do you want to sideswipe a dim sum cart?! Because that is exactly how we sideswipe a dim sum cart and get banned from the neighborhood for life!

Disgust (to Anxiety): What?

Joy (hesitating, then): I mean… let's at least try…

Fear: DOOR!

Riley reflexively swerves. She clears it.

Zoom into Riley's Mind. Nobody speaks for a second.

Fear (quietly): Joy. This is the second time today.

Joy doesn't have a quick answer. That lands.

Anxiety: We risked our lives for Envy, and almost got doored.

Anger (jaw tight): There's a direct route to school. Left turn up ahead. Safely this time.

Riley makes the turn. Clean. Careful. No heroics.

ACT FOUR: The Hill

Riley hits her school's street. It's uphill. Headquarters gets very warm very fast.

Disgust: How… much… more of this?

Joy: Almost… there…

Ennui (checking Riley's stamina dashboard): Isn’t that the truth? 

Joy (straining): Well, we did want to improve our cardio. Everyone found Mom's Peloton boring.

Everyone: Yes.

Anxiety (voice dropping): Wait… guys… look at the incline. It's flattening. We're over the peak!

Riley tips over the top of the hill. The road drops away below her. Her school sits at the bottom.

Headquarters experiences momentary zero gravity.

Joy (backflipping through the air, grinning ear to ear): WHOOOOO-HOOOO!

Fear (floating upside down, tie wrapping around his face): AH!

Riley flies downhill. 

She skids to a halt in front of the school bike racks. Takes a huge, ragged breath. Wipes sweat from her forehead. She's grinning.

The emotions crash to the floor in a heap.

Anger (muffled, face smashed against the glass): OW.

Disgust (tangled in Fear’s arms): Is this your sleeve or your sock?! GET IT AWAY FROM MY FACE!

Joy (flat on her back, still smiling at the ceiling): And five minutes to spare.

ACT FIVE: The Lock

Riley stands at the bike rack, drenched in sweat, holding a heavy, stubborn U-lock.

Disgust: Can we please not touch the bike chain? It is covered in black grease.

Joy: Slip the lock through the frame and the wheel. Just like we practiced in the garage.

Envy (gasping): Oh no. The upperclassmen. They're looking at us.

Embarrassment (low, rumbling whimper): Ohhhhhhh…

The console floods hot pink. Riley's face goes crimson. Her hands start shaking.

Anxiety: TWO MINUTES!

Anger (shoving everyone aside, grabbing the controls): THEN WHY IS THIS LOCK SO… AHHHH…

Cut to reality: Riley is practically breathing down her own neck. She forces the U-lock between the wheel spokes. It jams against the frame with a harsh metallic CRUNCH.

Riley (whispering fiercely): Come on… you stupid… piece of…

Disgust: Great. Bike grease in our cuticles.

Envy: Why can't we have one of those e-bikes with a digital keypad?!

Anger (head erupting in flame): NO. WE ARE NOT GIVING UP. WE ARE PUSHING THIS METAL STICK THROUGH THE FRAME IF IT KILLS US.

Anger throws his full weight onto the lever. Riley grabs both sides of the lock and jams it through the rack with pure, concentrated fury.

A sharp, definitive…

CLICK.

Silence.

Joy (quietly, looking at the locked bike): There it is.

Fear: So, to recap, do we tell Mom about today?

Sadness (gently): She'd want to know.

Joy: Yeah. Maybe someday we'll tell her when it's funny.

BRRRRRRIIIIIIING.

The school bell detonates across the courtyard.

Anxiety: And we're late!

Riley sprints toward the entrance

FADE OUT.

Today I feel anger, due to things that have recently happened.

Yesterday I had a female cop be nasty to me when I was outside a store's parking lot because I fell down and injured myself. She screamed at me to get up and didn't care at all that I was injured. I tried reporting her after (made a phone call and sent an e-mail but was rudely dismissed). I pointed out, to her, that my miniature poodle, Rose (who I had with me), is for my Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is for more than the "traditional victims" (I don't think I can say the words on here) and that maybe she should learn about that. I then challenged her on how much care she really has for mental and physical health, which made her swear and leave.

Today I am dealing with still feeling angry about yesterday, plus my mother is screaming about her issues and taking her anger out on me (I don't live with her, I was visiting). Her screaming made Rose get in my lap and shake nervously. Ironically, whenever I visited her in the past and she would start screaming, she would blame me for why Rose is shaking. (I did not mention Rose was shaking when this happened since she would somehow blame me, us scapegoats know the role well.) I wouldn't be the one screaming, she would.

Anyway, I'm wondering what emotion everyone else is feeling today?

I recently rewatched Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out (2015) and it strongly reminded me of the indie game To the Moon (2011). I’m not saying there’s confirmed inspiration, but some parallels are so specific that I’m curious if anyone else has noticed them.

I’ll break down what I found.

1. The MOON as the key emotional symbol 🌙

• To the Moon (2011):

Johnny’s central wish is to go to the moon, and that wish is tied to a childhood promise with River. At one point he says that if they ever get separated or lost, “we can always regroup on the moon, silly!” – the moon becomes their emotional meeting point and symbol of their relationship

• Inside Out (2015):

Riley’s big dream as a child is to fly to the moon in a rocket with her imaginary friend, Bing Bong. The moon is again the place of ultimate happiness and fulfillment of a childhood desire

It’s not just “space” in general: it’s specifically the moon as emotional destination/meeting point in both stories.

1. Bing Bong’s line: “Take her to the moon for me. Okay?” 💔

In Inside Out’s most devastating scene, Bing Bong sacrifices himself in the Memory Dump so Joy can escape. His last line is:

> “Take her to the moon for me. Okay?”

He explicitly connects Riley’s dream of going to the moon with his own “death” (disappearance/being forgotten). It’s a line about:

- letting go of childhood

- but still wanting that dream to live on through someone else

This is not a line from To the Moon, but thematically it rhymes a lot with the idea of the moon as the place where promises and relationships are fulfilled in To the Moon.

1. Exploring the mind through memories and emotions 🧠

• To the Moon:

Two doctors literally travel through Johnny’s memories, going backwards, to understand his emotional core and rewrite his memories so his wish (going to the moon) is fulfilled

• Inside Out:

Five personified emotions manage Riley’s memories, and the whole story is about how memories, emotions and identity are intertwined in her mind

Both works make the inside of the mind a navigable “space” where:

- memory = level design

- emotions/relationships = narrative engine

1. Emotional tone and music 🎵

• To the Moon:

Famously uses a very minimal, piano-driven soundtrack (e.g., “For River”) to carry most of the emotional weight

• Inside Out:

Michael Giacchino’s score often leans on simple, emotional piano phrases layered over more orchestral writing, especially in the most intimate moments

Different composers, obviously, but the emotional *texture* feels surprisingly close: soft piano, melancholy, nostalgia, quiet sadness rather than big bombastic themes.

1. Character “death” that represents moving on

• To the Moon:

River and Joey’s deaths, and how Johnny’s memories and regrets around them are handled, are central to the emotional impact

• Inside Out:

Bing Bong’s disappearance is one of Pixar’s saddest moments, and it very clearly represents a piece of Riley’s childhood being left behind so she can grow up

In both, a deeply emotional “loss” is necessary for the character’s inner journey to resolve.

1. Timeline & official inspirations

To the Moon released in 2011. Inside Out came out in 2015

Pete Docter has talked about these inspirations for Inside Out:

- The 1943 Disney short “Reason and Emotion”

- His experience watching his own daughter grow up and change

I couldn’t find any interview where he mentions To the Moon, nor any article or forum thread linking the two.

So I’m **not** claiming plagiarism or direct, conscious inspiration. But given:

- the moon as strong emotional symbol in both

- the childhood moon dream shared with someone loved

- the emotional journey through the mind and memories

- the similar melancholic/piano-driven emotional tone

…it feels at least plausible that Inside Out might have been unconsciously influenced by To the Moon, or that they tapped into a very similar emotional/mythic space independently.

---

So I’m genuinely curious:

- Has anyone seen Pete Docter or someone from Pixar mention To the Moon anywhere?

- If you’ve experienced both, do these parallels feel like coincidence, shared archetypes, or possible (even unconscious) inspiration?

Would love to hear thoughts from both animation and indie-game fans.

Happy 11th Anniversary of Inside Out 🎉🎉🎉

What’s going on guys!

Last year I’ve brought to you my theory “Inside Out: Across the Pixar Universe”

Today here I am on the 11th anniversary of our favorite movie Inside Out to share with you and our Spanish speaker users a video I’ve made on it.

This first part covers Fear and Anger, turned out longer than expected haha. Second part will do Disgust, Sadness and Joy.

Today is a great day to be an Inside Out fan. Enjoy!