- “I'm mostly cotton candy, but shape-wise, I'm part cat, part elephant, part dolphin.”
- ―Bing Bong
Bing Bong is a character in Inside Out. He was the imaginary friend of Riley Andersen.
History[]
Inside Out[]
Bing Bong was Riley's imaginary friend created during her early childhood. As she grew older, she thought of Bing Bong less and less, leaving him to wander in her mind. One day, Joy and Sadness found him and told him they were trying to get back to Headquarters. Joy promised she would force Riley to remember Bing Bong when she got back, exciting Bing Bong. Bing Bong saw Joy struggling to carry Riley's Core Memories and emptied his bag so she could use it. Then he told her they could take the Train of Thought back to Headquarters. They were a station in Imagination Land and he knew a shortcut. Unfortunately, the shortcut involved going through Abstract Thought. When activated, it broke them down into more abstract versions of themselves, until they were two dimensional and had to flop down to fit through the exit. Once they were out, they returned to their prior states, but missed the train. Bing Bong didn't know when another train would come, but said there was another station through Imagination Land.
Bing Bong led them through Imagination Land, where he found his long-lost rocket. He celebrated having a way to take Riley to the moon like he'd promised. Next, they went through Preschool World, which Bing Bong said was nearly there.
Bing Bong, Joy, and Sadness watched as mind workers demolished parts of Imagination Land. Bing Bong was particularly upset when they took his rocket and pushed it into the Memory Dump. Joy told him they'd fix it when they got back to Headquarters, but he remained sad and refused to keep moving toward the train station. Sadness saw this and sat with him. She talked to him about his feelings and how he had lost his connection to Riley. She helped him remember the happy adventures they'd had together. This cheered Bing Bong enough to get him to direct them to the train. They boarded the train and started toward Headquarters. When the train stopped due to Riley falling asleep, they decided to go to Dream Productions to wake her up. Joy wanted to use a happy dream despite Sadness saying it would be more effective to use a scary dream. Bing Bong intruded on the dream, trying to force Riley to remember him and some guards grabbed him and took him to the Subconscious, where he was imprisoned in a balloon cage on top of Jangles the Clown, who was sleeping. Joy and Sadness broke him out and then decided to wake Jangles to use him to wake up Riley. Once Riley was awake, they boarded the train and were again on their way to Headquarters.
Before they could get there, the tracks started to fall due to the destruction of Honesty Island. Mind workers were able to pull Joy, Sadness, and Bing Bong off the train just before it fell into the Memory Dump. The mind workers then told them Riley was running away.
As Joy tried to use a Recall Tube to get back to Headquarters, leaving Sadness behind, it broke and knocked her and Bing Bong into the Memory Dump. Once in there, Bing Bong started to disappear. Joy had the idea to find Bing Bong's rocket and use it to escape. They tried twice and were unable to generate enough energy to escape. Bing Bong encouraged Joy to try again. This time, he jumped out as they started to ascend, allowing Joy to make it to the top. Despite being left in the Memory Dump, Bing Bong celebrated and told Joy to go save Riley. He told Joy to take Riley to the moon for him and then faded away, forgotten.
Mind Candy[]
Bing Bong did a dance for the camera, showed off for Joy, and played keep away with Anger over a soccer ball. He also tried to climb a ball that ended up rolling on top of him. Then he picked up Sadness and said she was cute.
Personality[]
Bing Bong is very social, cheerful and lively, often chatting with others and helping them out. Bing Bong will do anything for Riley, believes everything she tells him, and shares anything he has with her. Bing Bong is always happy, everything is fun to him, and everything sounds good to him.
Notes and Trivia[]
- The film was originally going to feature a whole slew of "imaginary friends", as characters from Riley's early childhood that were now refugees living in a place called "Hobo Camp." In addition to Bing Bong, these included Mrs. Scribbles, who was a stick figure, and "Corner Sun," who was literally a quarter of Sun as kids would draw in the corner of their drawings. Ultimately, this storyline was condensed to just Bing Bong.[source?]
- After being asked why Bing Bong is made of cotton candy, Pete Docter simply stated, "I like cotton candy."[source?]
- We find out at what age Riley created him when he talks about the reasoning behind his appearance. "You gotta remember, when Riley was three, animals were all the rage."
- Although he has faded away, it's quite possible that Riley still remembers him, according to The Bing Bong Book. At the end of that book, Bing Bong finds Storybook Land, where three Bing Bongs from books Riley wrote when she was younger appear to join him for tea.
- While saying his last line "Take her to the moon for me, okay?" Richard Kind was in tears.[source?]
- In 1990, Disney published a book titled, "Mickey Mouse in Bing Bong". That book's "Bing Bong" is a "Giant Saber-toothed Rabbit."
- The book that Bing Bong and Joy use as a ramp to launch the Rocket Wagon out of the memory dump is titled "The Seagull's Picnic," which is a real book for early readers by Jessie Reid and Joan Low.
- When he gets sad, he cries tears made of wrapped-up candy from his eyes.
- In the Mind Candy scenes, Bing Bong was shown with the Pixar ball.
- He is the only aspect of Riley's mind that can be seen by her.
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
- "Take her to the moon for me, okay?"
- "Welcome to Imagination Land!"
- "My rocket!"
- "Riley can't be done with me."
- (to Sadness, referencing his rocket) "It's all I had left of Riley."
- "Hi, Riley, it's me!"
- "Don't you get it, Joy? We're stuck down here! We're forgotten!"
- "I blow a mean nose!"
- "What are you talking about? I go in here all the time. It's a shortcut, you see? D-A-N-G-E-R. Shortcut. I'll prove it to you."
- "I did, but wow, we should not have gone in there. That was dangerous. They really should put up a sign."
- "Depth! I'm lacking depth!"
- "RUN! Ahhhh!"
- "I can't feel my legs! Oh wait, there they are!"
- "I cry candy! Try the caramel. It's delicious."
- "Sure! I come here all the time! I'm practically the mayor!"
- "You gotta remember, when Riley was three, animals were all the rage. The cow goes moo. The horse goes neigh. That's all people talked about back then."
- "You know, it's unclear. I'm mostly cotton candy. But shape-wise, I'm part cat, part elephant, part dolphin."
- "We're not going to make it!"
- "My face! My beautiful face!"
- "Joy, we're stuck down here. We might as well be on another planet."
References[]
v - e - d  | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|