The Soundtrack Space: Inside Out

Michael Giacchino is a popular soundtrack composer who exhibits a wide range of styles, working on both intense action movies and family-friendly Disney Pixar films, such as Inside Out. Inside Out is a popular and emotional film that explores the nature of growing up. Giacchino’s score is a great example of the effectiveness of simple melodies.

The most memorable musical moment of Giacchino’s soundtrack for Inside Out is the motif that is featured many times throughout the film. The melody involves simple piano notes. This motif is often used to represent joy. ‘Bundle of Joy’ is the first instance of this motif. It is played on a soft piano. This piece reflects Riley as a baby, so the simple piano melody is played gently. This motif fades out, to be replaced by a quiet moment of slow repeated notes. The music swells again into a more developed version of the original melody.

Inside Out follows Riley’s emotions as personified characters: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. ‘Team Building’ soundtracks the scene where we are introduced to these characters. It opens with low notes played on the tuba, before transforming into a playful version of the motif, accompanied by guitar strums. Soft percussion provides a sense of pace. Jazz inflexions are utilised throughout Giacchino’s soundtrack, like in the rapid drum section.

Jazz influences are again prevalent, with a cacophony of jumbled instruments and hard-to-follow melodies

‘Nomanisone Island/ National Movers’ is a hopeful track. Giacchino employs whimsical strings and an upbeat guitar beat. A tinkling piano melody adds extra lightness to the piece. It is a positive piece, as Joy plays a happy memory of Riley and her friend.

Memory is an integral part of Inside Out, and the recalling of such memories becomes a way for the personified emotions to affect Riley. ‘Free Skating’ occurs in the scene where Joy shows Riley a happy memory of skating, with Joy skating alongside Riley. The piece is another instance of the motif, this time slightly slower to add emotional depth to the scene.

Throughout Inside Out, we see Joy and Sadness exploring different parts of Riley’s mind. Looking for a way out and with the help of Bing-Bong, they accidentally stumble into “Abstract Thought”, where the forms of the characters themselves become abstracted. In a piece of the same name, Giacchino conveys the strange outcome of being in this building. The piece is warped, sounding intentionally uncomfortable. It has a sense of urgency, portrayed through rapid drums and shrill brass warning sounds. Jazz influences are again prevalent, with a cacophony of jumbled instruments and hard-to-follow melodies.

The score can represent emotions by being a subtle accompaniment for emotional scenes

‘Imagination Island’ is a whimsical piece, using carnivalesque instruments like whistles and organ to reflect the playful nature of the place. This drastically contrasts with the sounds used to reflect other areas of Riley’s mind, like “Dream Productions”, which, as the name suggests, is where her dreams and nightmares are created. The scene involving the creation of a nightmare is represented in the piece titled ‘Dream a Little Nightmare’. This is an unsettling piece, characterised by its rapid and stressful tempo, as well as uncomfortable clashing instruments. The notes Giacchino uses sound off-kilter. This tension escalates in a crescendo by the end of the piece, as Riley wakes up abruptly from her nightmare.

The film concludes with Joy realising that Riley cannot be happy all the time, as she must experience sadness to experience joy fully. This realisation and the resolution of the film is soundtracked in ‘Joy Turns to Sadness/ A Growing Personality’. It opens with a triumphant flourish as a new core memory is formed, incorporating both joy and sadness. The rest of the piece is emotional, as Giacchino employs a subtle and moving melody. The motif first introduced in ‘Bundle of Joy’ is revisited, lending the soundtrack a cyclical quality. Sweeping strings support the simple piano melody. Then, it transitions into an upbeat, bouncy rhythm, demonstrating their hope for Riley’s future.

The Inside Out soundtrack is a shining example of Giacchino’s work, showcasing both orchestral and jazz influences and utilising experimental production techniques. The score can represent emotions by serving as a subtle accompaniment to emotional scenes, supporting the moment rather than overwhelming it.