It took Pixar nearly two decades to make a movie with a female protagonist, but fortunately the studio seems to have gotten the memo that girls and women watch adorable animated adventures too.
Since 2012’s Brave, Pixar has only released a single feature, last year’s Monsters University. Its next project, Inside Out, debuts next summer, and will feature the voice talents of Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, and Kaitlyn Dias, among others. The originally premised film will focus on the embodied emotions inside 11-year-old Riley, who undergoes a painful move from the Midwest to San Francisco. As Riley navigates a new city, house, and school, she’s guided by Joy (Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Kaling), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith).
Most of the teaser trailer focuses on how Pixar has toyed with its audiences’ emotions (in a good way!) in the past. Then Poehler’s Joy introduces us in her signature chirpiness to her fellow emotions. It’s a charming bit, but perhaps the best revelation in the video is the surprisingly beautiful backdrop of Riley’s brain, which looks like a mix between the gooey bits of the human body and a gorgeous lightbulb factory.
Inside Out opens June 19.