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As of this writing, the most recent Pixar title is their worst performer ever domestically, currently falling roughly $40 million short of A Bug’s Life. And that’s before we adjust for inflation. Its global take is currently less than $300 million, a first for the world’s most beloved animation studio. The Good Dinosaur is a true first for Pixar: a bomb. Its failure is so resounding, so complete, that it merited strong consideration as a Top Film Industry Story of 2015 on its own.

With no other help coming, all the pressure fell to the Inside Out team. If they failed to create an engaging story that became an immediate box office draw, Pixar would reach its lowest tide ever between the releases of their surefire sequels, Toy Story 3 and Finding Dory. Monsters University, which earned less in domestic revenue than its predecessor ever before box office inflation, would stand as the hit. People would consider the other four films as failures, diminishing the overall Pixar brand.

As you know, that didn’t happen. Disney started promoting Inside Out early, demonstrating a great deal of confidence about the premise. As originally marketed, it seemed to show the madcap inner workings of the brains of a mother, father, and daughter. People who remembered the generally forgotten Fox TV show immediately described it as an animated version of Herman’s Head. Pixar never shied away from that comparison, realizing that the concept was always superior to the TV show that claimed it.

With so much riding on the popularity of Inside Out, Disney eventually grew bolder. They revealed via new trailers that the film wasn’t so much about the entire family. Instead, it focused on an 11-year-old girl named Riley who felt her life being torn apart as she moved from the Midwest to California. It’s virtually every child’s worst fear to uproot their lives and start anew in a place where they don’t have any friends. Long months prior to the release of Inside Out, Disney was already pulling at our heartstrings.

Even with a killer concept, however, Inside Out was far from a sure thing. In the eyes of many North Americans, the bloom was off the rose with Pixar. Their recent fare simply had not matched the public’s perceptions lofty expectations for the studio. In order to give the film a chance, Pixar would have to prove that they were back in full force.

Disney’s ad campaign was methodical and sublime in this regard. They focused on establishing the characters from Riley’s inner monologue, developing Joy as the leader and Anger as delivering all the best jokes in the movie, even if Disgust wound up stealing this title in the end. They showed why communication breaks down between married characters, thereby enticing parents to want to bring their children to the film. And they also added a few terrific, hysterical gags such as the brain freeze and Anger’s lament about San Francisco pizza. This last part was critical to let people know Inside Out wouldn’t forget to bring the funny.

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