P ixar’s new film Inside Out personifies the five major emotions — Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust — residing in the mind of a preteen girl named Riley. Throughout the movie, the five embodied emotions all work to guide and protect her.

“Inside Out” is about how five emotions — personified as the characters Anger, Disgust, Fear, Sadness and Joy — grapple for control of the mind of an 11-year-old girl named Riley during the tumult of a move from Minnesota to San Francisco.

In contrast to conventional depictions of emotions as transient inner experiences, this explicit disembodiment of emotions is a powerful cinematic metaphor. Each emotion has its personality and functions, and they interact with other emotions through dialogue, conflict, and cooperation.

Inside Out presents emotions as likeable, colorful little critters, which makes them easy for kids to imagine and to talk about. We see the power of emotions through the changes in Riley’s behavior when different emotions take charge of her inner control board. She acts differently when she’s driven by, for example, Fear versus Anger.