I’ve been dying to go to the Barbie Expo since it opened in Montreal. When a Canadian trip became preferable due to the pandemic, I jumped at the chance to finally visit! It’s a free exhibit inside a mall downtown. Les Cours Mont-Royal is steps away from Universel, which is one of my favourite restaurants for breakfast. Super convenient!
Core Memories. Personality Islands. Imagination Land. These are just a few of the driving forces behind protagonist Riley Anderson’s thought process in Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out. The original concept takes viewers on a behind the scenes tour of a young girl’s mind as the script explores how her emotions affect her behaviour. Five emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear – run an intense operation and guide her through life’s challenging moments like being the new girl at school.
The characters clearly express their feelings through their large eyes and energetic voices. For example, Disgust (Mindy Kaling) has extra long eyelashes and her sassy personality makes her quite entertaining. No matter which emotion they represent, every character speaks with conviction.
Meanwhile, Amy Poehler’s character Joy is the woman in charge. She’s not bossy, but eager. She wants Riley to be happy. All of the emotions have a symbiotic relationship that helps Riley function like a typical preteen. When that gets disrupted, chaos ensues. Midway through the movie, I was so engrossed that whenever Joy and Sadness stood at the edge of a cliff, I felt nervous for them. That’s a tell-tale sign of good storytelling.
In case it wasn’t clear when I blogged about going back to Disney World, I’m proud to share that I’m a kid at heart. Toys “R” Us shares that sentiment and wants Canadians to share stories on social media about taking an oath to never grow up.
Where would the retail chain be if parents hit a certain age and decided to abandon their childhood fantasies and stop playing with toys for good?
To celebrate their 30th anniversary, Toys “R” Us is going all out. They’ve partnered with Transat Holidays, AIR MILES®, Lego and Mattel to offer Canadian shoppers major promotions and host exciting events for kids of all ages. Visit www.toysrus.ca/events for more details.
