Disney’s Inner Workings explores the workings of the heart and mind
Short animation takes a look at a day in the life of an ordinary man and the opposing forces that drive him
Think of the many times your brain has talked your rumbling stomach out of a stack of calorie-laden pancakes, or convinced your heart that it shouldn’t act on romantic urges because of potential embarrassment.
That daily unseen push-and-pull in our bodies comes to animated life in the Disney short Inner Workings, directed by Big Hero 6 and Wreck-It Ralph story artist Leo Matsuda. Premiering at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, the short will play in front of the big-screen musical fantasy Moana (released on November 23) starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“That’s my life: I’m always in a tug of war between the two extremes,” says Matsuda, 34. There’s also a similar dichotomy with his own ancestry: His Japanese side is “very disciplined, and I also have my Brazilian side, which is all carnival and parties.”
The primary players of Inner Workings are the fearful brain and the good-time heart of Paul, an average Joe paper pusher whose walk to work is filled with distractions where the two organs don’t agree on the right course of action, with the brain usually winning. Experiencing both the monotony of work life and the fun that everybody else is having at a nearby beach, heart and mind come to an understanding, though Paul doesn’t throw all caution to the wind.
“A lot of times, there are these stories where your heart wants to do something and you abandon all responsibility,” says producer Sean Lurie. “This message is actually how do you find fun and joy and incorporate that into your life?”