Pixar has a way of slipping unexpected ideas into its movies — little details or lines of thought that only reveal themselves with repeat viewing.
But the studio’s latest offering — “Inside Out,” released last week — contains an element few people outside the Bay Area will ever notice: The dad is a total SF startup dude.
Riley’s dad, from the new Pixar movie Inside Out. His t-shirt says “Brang.” Image: Disney/Pixar
Yes, the tech boom has come to this — it’s even worming its way into children’s films.
“Inside Out” focuses on an 11-year-old girl named Riley whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco for her father’s job. Most of the action takes place inside Riley’s head, as her anthropomorphized emotions — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear — grapple with the move.
The exact nature of dad’s job is never explained. But it’s clearly a startup. No sooner have Riley and her parents arrived then he gets called into the office, where the investors have shown up a day or two earlier than expected. His phone conversations, overheard by Riley, teeter on the edge of if-we-blow-this-pitch-we’re-toast panic.
Oh, and of course he’s got facial hair. And a t-shirt of his startup, Brang. The shirt sports a logo that looks like a shopping bag with two opposing arrows on it, with the slogan “What did you brong?” Perfect, tech-branding gibberish.
He’s a bit long in the tooth to be a tech bro, per se — remember, Riley’s 11 — but he’s definitely a startup guy. Part of what some San Franciscans consider the invading horde.
It’s an interesting point for Pixar to include. The writers never dwell on it. But given their office’s location — on the far side of the Bay Bridge, in Emeryville — they must be aware of it. As I said, they have a way with unexpected ideas.
And their take on San Francisco is decidedly not pulled from postcards. Riley’s new house, which looks to be located on the border of Russian Hill and Chinatown, is cramped, dingy and old. It’s wedged into the middle of a block with no trees, no spaces between homes, minimal sidewalks, overhead wires aplenty and a persistent gray gloom. None of which helps Riley’s mood.
But it is a house, at a time when the median rent for an apartment in our fine city tops $4,200. Did they buy? Are they renting? Either way, Dad’s making bank. And was that place Ellis Acted? We’ll never know (unless there’s a sequel).
The writers do manage to work in some sly local jokes, such as the snooty artisanal pizzeria that ruins pizza for all eternity by covering it in broccoli. Then there’s this exchange between the emotions Disgust and Anger, after their colleague Fear thinks he sees a bear.
Disgust: “There are no bears in San Francisco.”
Anger: “I saw a really hairy guy. He looked like a bear.”
And just in time for the SF Pride Parade, no less. Nicely done.
