Remember when there was a rumour that Sony and Dreamworks were considering suing Pixar, because the idea that a company could have so many consecutive successes without some kind of shenanigans going on was too ludicrous. That because they relied on depth of characters, structure of story, and beauty of humanity to make truly affecting films.
Then they got bought by Disney, and that pretty much stopped. Nothing that has come out since Up, with the exception of Toy Story 3, has felt like what came before it. Some of their films have been completely empty of meaning, and other have felt like something hugely important is missing. Like, removing the muffler from a car: it'll still run, but it won't be very enjoyable.
My first instinct with this first teaser for Inside Out was that spending most of the minute and a half playing clips from old Pixar films was a cheap way to play on our emotions. Because, even without context, many of these scenes make me feel hard emotions. But that's the point. That's entirely the point, and it makes me think that there might be some hope for Pete Docter's new film, which explores the life of Riley, an eleven year old girl undergoing a move to a new city, and experiencing that move through the emotions in her head: Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness, performed by Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling and Phyllis Smith respectively. Given that Docter has previously delivered Monster's Inc and Up, two of Pixar's most emotional films, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
For now.