 Following an advance screening at CinemaCon on April 22 , 2015 , the film was well received by audiences . Praise was aimed for its smart storyline , although some wondered whether the concept was too complicated for young audiences and to attract family crowds . After premiering at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival , the film attracted praise from film critics . Peter Debruge of Variety was effusive , calling it the studio 's " greatest idea " and " a stunningly original concept that [ ... ] promises to forever change the way people think about the way people think . " The Chicago Tribune 's Michael Phillips called it the studio 's best since Up ( also directed by Docter ) , a " consistently inventive and a heartening corrective to recent , stockholder @-@ driven inferiorities . " Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter deemed it an " audacious concept " that stands among the most " conceptually trippy films " for family audiences . " With its quite literally cerebral bent , I think Inside Out might have some trouble fully connecting with younger kids , but grown @-@ ups are likely to shed more than a few tears , " remarked Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair . The Guardian 's Peter Bradshaw felt it " buoyant and sweet @-@ natured " , though slightly inferior to Pixar 's best . Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club , while overall positive on the film , said it " trades the wordless gracefulness and sense of discovery of the animation studio 's best work for explanatory voice @-@ over and nonstop exposition , " also arguing that the Pixar animators could have been more visually adventurous to match the conceptual ambition . 
