The word 'headquarters' gets a brilliantly clever spin in Pixar's new movie Inside Out – because the movie literally does take place inside someone's cranium.
The film revolves around emotions Joy, Anger, Fear, Sadness and Disgust as they manage young girl Riley's mood-swings from their incredible, multi-coloured base of operations within her mind. It's a remarkable landscape where the movement of a lever can trigger different emotional responses and happy memories are stored as glowing orbs.
This got us thinking – what are the coolest headquarters ever seen in the movies? Prepare to go inside out as we round up six of our favourites...
1)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Used by: SPECTRE
The lowdown: James Bond production designer Ken Adam pulled out all the stops for this budget-guzzling set, a cavernous bad guy lair for cat-bothering SPECTRE honcho Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Located inside an extinct volcano, these were headquarters built to an epic, ostentatious scale, as befitting an organisation with such grand, world conquering plans and a very silly name (it stands for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion).
2)
Avengers Assemble (2012)
Used by: SHIELD
The lowdown: SHIELD has (or rather had) its own stationary HQ, but it’s the Helicarrier that’s our favourite, a totes basass flying headquarters that must surely have bankrupted the US government when it was built. Damaged in the fight against Loki and his minions, an even bigger model turned up in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It’s so immense that the LEGO model of it is made up of a whopping 2,996 bricks!
3)
Austin Powers
Used by: Dr Evil
The lowdown: Based, it must be said, on Blofeld’s chrome-encrusted hideaway in You Only Live Twice, Dr. Evil’s HQ is similarly located inside an inert volcano (although Blofeld never carved his own face on its outside), yet has its own Starbucks (result!) and chairs that drop people into an underwater shark tank at the touch of a button. Bwahahaha, etc.
4)
Monsters Inc. (2001)
Used by: Mike, Sully and their fellow monsters
The lowdown: 'We scare because we care' is the unforgettable motto of the eponymous headquarters. Located in the city of Monstropolis, Monsters Inc. allows the film's characters to enter our world via special portals. Once through, they harness the energy of childrens' screams and use it to power the energy supply. However, when a little girl named Boo finds her way into the monster world, all manner of hilarious and heartwarming chaos ensues.
5)
Star Trek (2009)
Used by: The crew of the USS Enterprise
The lowdown: Not so much a headquarters but the sheeny nerve centre of the USS Enterprise, the bridge has passed through countless incarnations since the original 1960s series. Its latest design, which looks as though Starfleet have snatched Jonathan Ive from Apple to become their designer-in-residence, is an eye-poppingly cool workspace. Kitted out with all the Trekkie wizardy fans expect, everyone wants this to be their headquarters.
And from make-believe to reality...
6) Pixar HQ
Used by: The geniuses who created Inside Out and other classic movies
The lowdown: This is the place where dreams come true, where sketches and ideas are transformed into incredible moviegoing experiences for audiences of all ages. Unassumingly located in the Californian city of Emeryville just outside San Francisco, only the 'Pixar' sign by the front entrance gives a hint of the remarkable imagination contained within.
Click here to book your tickets for Inside Out, which is released on 24th July. And don't forget to tweet your favourite movie headquarters @Cineworld.
