2015’s Inside Out grossed over $858 million worldwide against a $175 million budget, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of the year. The film also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and won Best Animated Feature, which guaranteed a sequel. Original director Pete Docter had ideas for a sequel but stepped down when he became Pixar’s CCO in 2018. Pixar officially announced the sequel during the D23 Expo, with story supervisor Kelsey Mann making his directorial debut. While most of the original cast agreed to return, Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling declined due to a pay dispute. Like the last film, the filmmakers consulted numerous psychologists for research and even recruited nine teenagers to portray adolescence accurately. Due to diminishing returns from other recent Disney films, projections for the sequel were below $100 million. After premiering at the El Capitan Theater, Inside Out 2 opened nationwide in June 2024.
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Synopsis
Now 13 years old, Riley (Kensington Tallman) is about to enter high school, starting with a hockey camp. Meanwhile, Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Liza Lapira), Fear (Tony Hale), and Anger (Lewis Black) maintain her mind. However, a wrench gets thrown when Riley enters puberty, and four new emotions enter HQ. Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) take over from the original five. Thinking she knows best, Anxiety has Riley ditch her friends for new ones and push herself to make the team. Unfortunately, Anxiety’s choices disrupt Riley’s sense of self and throw things into chaos, so the original five must fix her. As the primary emotions try to return to HQ, Riley’s life worsens, and she loses her true self. Will Anxiety succeed in “helping” Riley, or will the original five restore her to how she was?
Review
Given the long gap between the original and the sequel, it’s impressive how good Inside Out 2 is. Sure, it doesn’t quite recapture the first film’s magic, but it’s incredible for a sequel made almost a decade later. Like any good sequel, this one effectively takes what worked in the original film and expands upon it. Much like how the original tackled the emotions of a developing child, this one tackles the emotional complexities of adolescence. This film deals with themes of insecurity, the identity of self, self-doubt, over-ambition, emotional repression, and even panic attacks. These themes would fall flat or seem distasteful in lesser hands, but Kelsey Mann and his team handle them expertly. There’s also some fun satire, such as a scene involving Riley’s embarrassing secrets hidden in a vault. You can tell the filmmakers cared about the material and tried making something more than just a product.
Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, and Lewis Black return to their roles of Joy, Sadness, and Anger flawlessly. While it would’ve been better if Hader and Kaling also came back, Tony Hale and Liza Lapira are solid replacements. Maya Hawke is outstanding as Anxiety, perfectly capturing the emotion’s wild energy while making the character more sympathetic. Much like Fear, Disgust, and Fear in the original, Anxiety isn’t inherently evil but misguided in trying to help Riley. Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment have moments, but their characters aren’t developed as much to make them stand out. 16-year-old Kensington Tallman is perfectly cast as a teenage Riley, exhibiting the characteristics of a young person going through puberty. Lilimar stands out as the hotshot hockey player Valentina “Val” Ortiz, who Riley is trying to win over. The cast is fantastic, even if some roles are reduced from the original.
Since the original film’s release, Pixar’s movies have ebbed and flowed in quality, with some good and some not-so-good. For every Toy Story 4 and Soul, which were solid, some were decent, like Onward, and others lackluster, like Lightyear. On top of that, 2023 was not a great year for Disney, with most of their movies losing money. Hopefully, this film’s critical and commercial success will change things for the better for Disney, but probably not. Regardless, this is a phenomenal family film that, like any great Pixar movie, can be enjoyed by kids and adults. Kids will enjoy the bright colors and funny gags, while adults will resonate with the complex themes. Plus, at 96 minutes, the movie flies by quickly without rushing or dragging to the end. Overall, Inside Out 2 is another top-notch Pixar film with fantastic animation and a great story.
Inside Out 2 is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
