15 Best Animated Movie Moments Of The Decade
4. Inside Out - Goodbye, Bing Bong
Who knew the death of an imaginary friend could be so heartbreaking?
Inside Out was a good concept done fantastically. It wasn’t entirely original, riffing off the Numbskulls comic strip and so much more, and it honestly had no right being as good as it was. It was only through Pixar tackling the concept so absolutely that they came up with such monumental returns.
Part of that meant fully committing to Bing Bong. Masterfully voiced by Richard Kind, Bing Bong was Riley’s imaginary friend, consigned to the forgotten part of her memories as she grew up. When Joy gets lost in Riley’s thoughts trying to fix everything, she meets Bing Bong, and knows him all over again.
He helps her navigate through the forgotten parts of Riley’s mind, a place Joy is unfamiliar with and Bing Bong knows all too well. They hatch a plan to escape, but it hits onto a snag.
Bing Bong is too long forgotten, to laden down with the dust of time to escape. In order for Joy to leave, Bing Bong must sacrifice himself and let Riley forget him forever in order for Joy to return home.