In “Inside Out,” the girl whose emotions are personified is Riley Andersen.
Riley is an 11-year-old girl whose mind forms the film’s main setting. Her emotions—Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger—operate from Headquarters, influencing her reactions, memories, and decisions. The story follows Riley as her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco because of her father’s new job.
Her memories appear as colored spheres, while important experiences create “core memories” that support parts of her personality. At first, Joy tries to keep Riley happy by limiting Sadness, but the plot shows that sadness helps Riley communicate distress and receive support from others.
Bing Bong is not the girl; he is Riley’s imaginary friend. Joy and Sadness are emotions, not alternate names for Riley. Riley’s surname is Andersen, and her emotional development—not the emotions’ individual adventures alone—is the film’s emotional focus.