…unless you want to cry for an hour straight.

Yes, I want to talk about the Pixar movie Inside Out. It’s about feelings.

It s a lovely movie with a nice message. It is funny and creative. But it is SUPER sad and sentimental. As an HSP, I felt it was a bit emotionally manipulative.

But Kelly, are you denigrating a universally-heralded, sweet, children’s movie? How dare you!

As I sat in the crowded theatre with tears running down my face, I glanced around at the other moviegoers. I couldn’t tell if anyone else was crying. I simply didn’t understand how other people were sitting there, stonefaced. How are they watching this emotional content and feeling nothing? I simply don’t understand it.

Now that I know I’m an HSP, I don’t feel as silly about crying at movies as I used to. Now, I feel like I am the one who is human. I am the one who is feeling what the movie is trying to portray and non-sensitive people are missing out. (At least, that is what I tell myself to feel better.)

But there is a reason I don’t normally see movies like this. Watching a sad, emotional movie puts my brain and body through the emotional wringer. Why would I want to do that to myself? It is not worth the emotional drain. (Not to mention—feeling conspicuously like my face is puffy and red when I leave the theatre).

I feel like this movie was emotionally manipulative because it had to be—in order to make the non-HSPs (the stonehearts) actually feel something. To squeeze some tears out of their eyes, it needs to try harder. But it is too much for an HSP.

(Note: a commenter made a good point–just because people aren’t crying doesn’t mean they aren’t feeling things.)

There were parts of the movie where they showed a toddler having tender moments with her loving parents. Then we see that as she gets older, these formative, cherished memories start to fade and disappear. Yes, it can be sad for parents to see their little girls grow up. There is even a part where a character literally hugs an old memory and cries over it. Good lord, seriously?? I actually plugged my ears and looked away at the moment because it was like “hit me over the head” emotional.

It’s not just about a little girl growing up. It’s about the bittersweet passage of time in all our lives. We have happy memories that fade or turn to sad memories, friends who come and go, and loved ones who die. Nothing even stays the same. We all grow older, our youth fades, and then, welp, I’m just gonna say it, we all die. THAT is why this movie is so damn sad.

For me, this wasn’t just a cute cartoon movie for kids–I was crying about FEARING DEATH, people!

Look, this post is tongue-in-cheek. Inside Out is a great movie. It’s funny, creative, poignant, and beautiful. It is just not something I would watch as an HSP unless I wanted my emotions dragged though the gauntlet. I feel enough already without a movie trying to make me cry.

What did you think of the movie?