Just after the release of their new masterpiece, Pixar and Disney decided to further expand the world of Inside Out with this short film. Since they did that with Cars and Toy Story, Inside Out wasn't going to be left behind. Riley's First Date? Is quite brief and offers a fun moment that makes you want to keep exploring this world. What characterizes Inside Out is its way of portraying childhood from a psychological and human perspective, appealing to events that young people may experience in real life. Here, everything begins with a simple misunderstanding: the young Jordan seen at the end of the previous film shows up at the Andersens' house. This worries the father because he thinks Riley is going on a date and doesn't consider him a suitable boy. Mr. Andersen's reaction is the same as that of many fathers when they become overprotective of their daughters. This attitude is based on the pretext that the daughter is not old enough to have a partner and falls into the prejudice of labeling the suitor as unsuitable. The short film focuses more on Mr. Andersen's mind, and, as seen in the previous film, his emotions cling to authority. At first glance, Jordan doesn't seem like a suitable boyfriend because both on the outside and in his mind he appears to be a slacker. That gives Mr. Andersen some justification until he discovers that they both have something in common. This makes it pretty funny because it dispels Mr. Andersen's suspicions, and the moral of the story seems to be that the right person to be your daughter's partner shows up when you least expect it. Sure, they could have extended the short film to squeeze more out of it and make the experience more intense, but it works fine as a kind of epilog to the movie because it opens the door to what awaits Riley in the next stage of her life. Riley's First Date? Doesn't have much to it, but it's an acceptable short film that's fine to watch after the movie. My final rating for this short film is 8/10.
