INSIDE OUT directed by Pete Docter, written by Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley, with the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling and Lewis Black. A Disney release. 102 minutes. Opens Friday (June 19). For venues and times, see listings.
Phyllis Smith is very happy being Sadness.
I love her, she says as we sit down during a Toronto press stop for Inside Out, the Pixar animated adventure in which she plays Sadness, one of the five core emotions inside the head of a little girl named Riley.
Smith came aboard the project shortly after her Office mate Mindy Kaling (who plays Disgust), and remembers being overwhelmed on her first visit to Pixars headquarters. She arrived to find the entire movie storyboarded for her in a conference room.
I was quite impressed, she says. It was completely drawn out, and oh my gosh… it was a lot of information in a short period of time. All I knew was that I was excited and happy to be there, and I graciously said yes, she laughs. Immediately.
How did she find Sadnesss voice?
Its even hard to describe it or to talk about it, Smith says. It was something I did that moment, when we were working. It wasnt premeditated, maybe. Maybe thats the word. It wasnt something that I manufactured and walked in and tried to emulate. It was just something that came out of Petes direction and my weirdness.
Shes being fairly self-effacing which, if youre familiar with Smiths work on The Office, is also strangely comforting. But I press a little harder: although Sadness is an inherently comic character, Smith is essentially playing the voice of profound depression. So, um, how did she get there?
Oh, boy, she says. I just went for the truth of it and the intent of her heart, basically. Those are the two principles I zeroed in on. I did not do a method thing where I sat and thought of horrible things before walking into the session I basically just tried to give Pete what he wanted.
Smith was helped hugely by sharing three recording sessions with co-star Amy Poehler.
Some of our scenes were quite emotional, and it was easier to work off of someone than to work off of a music stand, Smith laughs. I was fortunate to work opposite her and watch her shed give me so much, and I would try to give it back, you know?
I ask if she sees herself in Sadness.
I really think they captured my eye-brows, she says, gesturing to the sharp diagonals above her eyes. Look, see? Fssssht, she says, making a slashing gesture.
Did they use the actors as performance models?
Early on, the executive producer told us, We may be videotaping you at a certain time, she says. I remember [for] one session I got all dolled up and then it didnt happen. But evidently they were taping somewhere along the line, because the animators told me that I moved a lot. It came out that I used to dance, and they said, Oh, thats why you move so much!
Smiths relationship with Sadness doesnt end with the release of the movie. Pixar properties have a habit of extending… well, to infinity and beyond.
Weve already done the Disney Infinity games, weve got three levels of that, she says. Theres an Inside Out float thats going to start at Disneyland, and Ive done recordings for that. Im happy to continue [as Sadness] its all good things, believe me.
Phyllis Smith on how children respond to Inside Out:
Smith on the movie’s appeal to adults as well:
See our review of the film.
normw@nowtoronto.com | @normwilner
