Inner Workings (2016) User Reviews

Enjoyable....

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 22 November 2016]

"Inner Workings" is a short film from Disney and which is being shown before Disney's latest full-length CGI film, "Moana". In many ways it's a lot like "Inside Out" but instead of focusing on feelings, the short focuses on the brain and its control over the heart, lungs and bladder. The story is about a boring man with a very boring job and whose brain constantly is scaring him out of doing anything exciting and risky in life. However, after the tedium of his job finally overwhelms this very responsible brain, it's about to rebel!

The animation is exactly what you'd expect from Disney--about the best you can find. The story is also cute and enjoyable...even if it does seem a tad too much like "Inside Out" (by Disney partner, Pixar). Worth seeing and likely to be nominated for yet another Oscar for Best Animated Short.

Goes very well with 'Moana'

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 15 December 2016]

'Moana' was knockout entertainment and one of Disney's best in years. While not one of Disney's best short films or works, 'Inner Workings' is still very good and goes very well with 'Moana' if not quite as good.

The animation is superb, being immaculately detailed, beautifully and intricately drawn with rich colour and some very inventive visuals. The music is hypnotic and understated, a good fit and meshes well with what's going on in the animation, not necessarily enhancing it but never intrusive or distracting.

'Inner Workings' will have, and has been, compared to one of Pixar's masterpieces 'Inside Out' in concept. It's not as imaginative, but explores its ideas in a way that's fascinating and thought-provoking. Throughout, 'Inner Workings' is very charming, cute and thoughtful.

Characterisation does nothing to hinder the material and how it's executed, while the voice acting is very strong.

All of this more than makes up for a lack of emotional depth (when compared to something like the heart-wrenching 'The Little Matchgirl') and an ending that comes over a bit awkwardly.

Otherwise, it's a very good short film, if falling short of greatness or mastery, and a more than worthy companion for 'Moana'. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Cute and Enjoyable

[Sylviastel · 9/10 · 8 December 2016]

This short animated film was shown before the main film, "Moana," at the local cinema. This cute short film begins with the story of a man who has a mundane job in an everyday office. The major character seeks something other than the mundane of living. As we see, his stomach and mouth have a place in the film. The artwork is first rate and believable. The animation is beautifully done. Seven minutes of pleasure, this short film should be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short for 2017. The artists have done a terrific job in animating the office, the inner working of a body and the beach. The animation pays great attention to detail. We were waiting to see Moana and the audience didn't know if it was a short or not until the credits rolled after the short film.

A good short animated movie

[johnpierrepatrick · 8/10 · 15 April 2020]

A nice idea, well done. 6 min enjoyed. My brain did not detect any funeral warning!

Inner Workings – The Struggle to Balance Working and Fun-loving Life

[brankovranjkovic · 10/10 · 12 December 2016]

This very short animated featurette was shown as the introduction to Moana,which I saw at the weekend. To be fair I missed the 1st minute or so whilst buying popcorn, but I quickly caught up with the premise.

The two main characters here are the "brain" and "heart" of an office employee who we follow during his walk to work every day.

His journey is filled with diversions, all with humorous consequences. His head is practical and sensible, but his heart is carefree and cheerful. His job is monotonous and boring, and I have a lot of sympathy with this character's struggle to balance his working and fun-loving life, this is a challenge facing everyone to varying degrees.

Comparison with Pixar's "Inside Out" cannot be dismissed, though this time we're looking at another generation.

The film is absolutely brilliant, the questions it poses and the way it deals with these matters are perfect.

Inside Out

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 18 August 2018]

Inner Workings looks at the battle between the heart and the mind in us all.

A man wakes up getting ready for work. His heart wants a big unhealthy breakfast, buy some sunglasses, surfing on the beach. The mind tells him no looking at the worse case scenario, death.

What the man ends up doing is working in a dull, boring, grim job. The tedium is killing him.

Even the mind eventually rebels.

The animation is done very well as it looks at the internal workings of the man and it has a retro feel to it. I found this to be a thoughtful short.

Inner Workings is another fine computer-animated Disney short

[tavm · 8/10 · 30 November 2016]

This Disney computer-animated short was shown just before the studio's feature of Moana. It concerns the brain of this man who works at the Boring, Boring, and Glum computer building. His brain keeps thinking of ways the man he inhabits is going to die if he does some risky things like surfing, eating something that's not considered healthy, or trying some sunglasses in front of a fine girl at the beach. But his heart has other ideas...This was quite funny especially concerning that brain and his thoughts. It's perhaps one of the more creative from the studio though if I thought hard enough, I could probably think of something that might have preceded it in format. Still, I highly recommend Inner Workings.

Nothing to blame

[mihai_alexandru_chindris · 7/10 · 16 September 2017]

Shorts from Disney always bring me joy and this one makes no exception. From most of them you remain with something, I mean, you learn something new, in this case that our brain can not govern the heart and viceversa. They both have to coexist and make the body behave in a natural way. Every part plays their role and what the young corporatist thinks with his brain and feels with his heart have actual consequences in the real world.

This animated short promotes the virtues of Wash & Wear . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 29 November 2016]

. . . fabrics, as "Paul" models a high-tech business suit which allows him to take a lunch-time dip in the Pacific surf, but then return to his office drone desk job at the Boring, Boring & Glum Agency none the worse for wear. Clocking in at slightly more than six minutes of fun, INNER WORKINGS proves to be an apt appetizer for the subsequent theatrical feature cartoon with which it's paired, MOANA. I read recently that a guy just broke the world marathon running record for best time turned in by someone dressed as an Elvis Impersonator during one of Las Vegas' races. Paul's feat is even more impressive than this, as it's totally impromptu, rather than premeditated. I saw INNER WORKINGS and MOANA on a Sunday in my church clothes, and while exiting I heard more than one similarly dressed gent asking their Better Half to get them a get-up like Paul's for Christmas.

Lacks the emotional depth of a lot of Disney's best short films.

[Hellmant · 7/10 · 30 November 2016]

'INNER WORKINGS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The new Disney animated short film, which debuted in theaters before the Disney animated feature 'MOANA'. The short is hand-drawn and computer-animated, and it runs approximately 7 minutes long. It tells the story of a responsible conservative man, who's body parts revolt against his brain; in an attempt to lead a more fun and passionate-filled life. The short was written and directed by Leonardo Matsuda, a former story artist (for Disney animated feature films like 'ZOOTOPIA', 'BIG HERO 6' and 'WRECK-IT RALPH'); he also directed the 2008 animated short film 'PREKISSTORIC TIMES'. The short stars the voice talent of animated filmmaker (and experienced animated voice actor), Raymond S. Persi. I found it to be a great concept for a film (it's quite similar to that of 'INSIDE OUT'), but it lacks the emotional depth of a lot of Disney's best short films. Still it is quite amusing, charming and kids should like it. I expected a little more but I definitely can't complain too much. I doubt it will be up for an Oscar next year though.

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Playing it safe with a good message

[ludvigaaericsson · 8/10 · 17 November 2020]

This cute and funny short film efficiently communicates a relevant and rather mature message about life philosophy. It's entertaining for children and adults alike but it's not quite pushing any thematic boundaries. The theme feels pretty generic which makes the film less special.

Still, it's a great short film which was certainly worth 6 minutes of my life!

Slightly too generic and more absurd than funny

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 30 April 2017]

"Inner Workings" is an animated short film from 2016 that runs for slightly over six minutes and I believe this one was show in theatres right before the Oscar-nominated "Moana". The writer and director is Leonardo Matsuda who has worked on other big name projects in the animation department already and same can be said about voice actor Raymond S. Persi, who also won an Emmy already for work that was not at the microphone. So a fairly experienced duo here and if you take a look at more names from the crew, then you will find other big names like Pixar powerhouse John Lasseter, even if this one here is a Disney production. It depicts the every day life of a man and how he feels and thinks about things happening to him on the way to work or also by getting simply out of bed. Really a whole lot of that seems to have to do with death, which is a running gag here, but I felt it became old pretty quickly. The party at the office felt a bit like a forced happy ending the way it was depicted. Sure I did not expect it to make sense in terms of realism, but at least make it funny somehow. It's really just a party for everybody to get out of the boring grey office life. No emotional impact really either. This one is maybe slightly delivered through the shots we see with the protagonist and the woman he admired at the very end. Anyway, another problem I had with this one is that the scenes with the organs and interactions felt basically like a recycled poor man's version of "Inside Out" as a short film while not being half as funny, intelligent or touching. I have to give this one a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

REAL LIFE STORY

[Javakar14 · 9/10 · 28 April 2022]

The short film tells us everything that we have only one life and not several.

And that it is better to enjoy life now than later to regret it enormously.

The project shows us our way of life and also our feelings as in real life and the film vice versa there are love, fear, sadness, disgust and JOY spoiler : there are also funny moments like the pelvis of the character urinating in the sea and also bosses and workers dancing at the end.

So great

[Before2020 · 10/10 · 17 May 2022]

I was wondering why this was so good and enjoyable and then I saw that it was made before 2020. Before everything started to suck, especially with Disney. This was smart, cute and very funny. Seeing our inner workings in a cartoon form was very creative.