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Google uses Pixar's 'Inside Out' to teach girls programming

Disney and Google let kids animate scenes from 'Inside Out' by learning to code

If you've ever toyed with the idea of learning to code, the process can be a little daunting: there a dozens of languages, thousands of variables and few newbie-friendly places to get started. Google's Made with Code project is one of many organizations dedicated to changing that -- and the group's latest effort to make programming fun leans heavily on the appeal of Disney magic: specifically, Pixar's Inside Out.

The coding tutorial challenges users to animate scenes from the Pixar film using Blocky, a visually illustrated mini-game that requires players to drag and drop code snippets together to solve simple problems. "Inside HQ" puts players in the place of Riley's emotions from the film Inside Out to help the teen slide down a handrail and play a game of hockey.

The experience lasts for only three short levels, but its mostly just meant to be a primer -- something to entice kids into exploring Made with Code's larger library of tutorials. It's a good start for Pixar fans who want to get started in programming -- and could help them move on to bigger, more challenging projects.