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Inside Out 2, featuring a cavalcade of emotions, including Joy, Anxiety, Fear, Anger, Sadness, Embarrassment, Envy, Disgust and so many more
Trailer: Pixar

Inside Out 2
Directed by Kelsey Mann
Rated PG
Felt 14 June 2024
#InsideOut2

Surprise isn’t one of the new emotions featured in Inside Out 2, but it is one of the strongest emotions felt while watching this remarkably sharp sequel.

Sum of All Fears

The original Inside Out was such a well-crafted tale fancifully examining childhood emotions it seemed to be quite an insurmountable feat to even try to match its creativity and originality. A sequel seemed destined to be a fool’s errand.

Throw in typical behind-the-scenes hurdles for a sequel to overcome and there are many reasons for angst. The original co-directors and co-writers are out. This is the first full-length feature from the new director, Kelsey Mann. There are some (necessary) changes in the voice talent. And, while one of the three original writers, Meg LeFauve, is back, she’s joined by a new co-scribe, Dave Holstein. This is his first feature-length screenplay after loads of TV writing, including episodes of Weeds. Not exactly a family show, that one.

Yikes.

So many emotions to explore.

Trepidation.

Dread.

Worry.

Surely disappointment is in the offing.

But. No.

Inside Out 2 is a marvel that follows Riley Andersen (Kensington Tallman) as she turns 13, prepares for high school and spends the summer at a hockey camp.

Oh.

And then there’s puberty.

Stand back!

Let It Go

This is a very clever – and fun – tale with so many pleasant surprises of pure creativity. It’s genius. Part of the fun is in not knowing where things are headed, so simply as a teaser consider where Inside Out 2 travels in the ever-more-rapidly increasingly intense life of newly minted teenager Riley.

Riley’s mind becomes a demolition zone as fanciful, brawny construction workers tear down her pre-pubescent identity and a CIA-worthy vault holds Riley’s deepest, darkest secrets. At the start, Joy (Amy Poehler) and the reliable gang of emotions (Anger (Lewis Black), Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Fear (Tony Hale)) don’t appreciate the severity of the situation. But their dire straits become apparent when they finally figure out Riley’s emotion console is flat-out broken. They no longer have any sway over her feelings.

Joy tries her best to restore balance and jettisons a slew of bad memories to the back of Riley’s mind. But it’s not enough.

Anxiety sets in.

Not just for Joy.

For Riley. And this new, unpredictable emotion sends something far more vital to the back of Riley’s mind: her entire belief system – her identity – is dumped in with all those bad memories.

All of this is wonderfully, colorfully visualized.

And as it all unfolds, beyond the surprise comes a sense of relief.

It’s a deep sigh of relief as it becomes apparent Pixar has got its groove back after a slew of creative and commercial stinkers, including the anemic Lightyear, arguably Pixar’s worst. The pandemic didn’t help matters, scuttling releases for Soul, Luca and Turning Red, relegating them to Disney+ and further fueling the public’s shift away from theatres, despite their each receiving a brief theatrical run earlier this spring.

Rogue Emotions

A hallmark of Pixar’s best movies is that, while they’re great for kids, they’re maybe even better for adults. That describes Inside Out 2 to a T; with its smart take on familiar mind games and sensations, like brainstorms, big ideas and bottled-up emotions, it gets the mind racing and sets all the synapses firing like crazy.

There’s a sound narrative structure to Inside Out 2 that puts puberty and the threat of losing old friends in the same edge-of-the-seat atmosphere as an action-thriller with the heroes working to dismantle a ticking time bomb. At the center of it all, Joy seeks to rebuild Riley’s belief system – her identity and sense of self-worth – while Anxiety (Maya Hawke) turns into a villain, albeit a well-meaning one who’s desperate to make Riley fit in with the cool kids.

The wit is non-stop and at times it (joyously) careens into the rapid-fire pacing of a spoof from Abrahams and the Zucker brothers.

But there’s also some profound insights. Is it true getting older means experiencing joy less? Hopefully not.

Inside Out 2 generates a reassuring, calming sense – warm fuzzies – that while childhood’s plenty messy, it’s also a beautiful thing.

And, as for Riley, she’s good, selfish, happy, sad, excited, bored, bad friend, best friend; she, like all of us, is so many colliding, complicated things that make people human.

Emotional Baggage

Visually, there are some really nice touches. Some of the emotions have a Muppet-like appearance of felt textures, while the real-world people are smooth and refined, generations ahead of the plastic-like appearance of people in the first Toy Story back in 1995.

That’s a style choice. Defining the appearance of emotions one way, the appearance of humans in another way. But there’s more. Inside Out 2 pokes fun at animation, anime and video games. Sure, they’re key factors in childhood and the development of a kid’s identity and creativity. But, this movie has so much fun with some of the more annoying tropes of children’s programming (think Bluey and Dora the Explorer) and video game play mechanics.

It all comes out of nowhere.

Well, no. That’s not accurate at all. It all comes out of the back of Riley’s mind, old memories (including a smidge of nostalgia) stashed away and otherwise forgotten about.

Inside Out 2 plays with the visuals of old-school animation and pixilated video game heroes. The result is a piling-on of the humor and some well-earned laugh-out-loud moments.

It’s breathtaking to see so much creativity packed into one animated feature. And it’s all wrapped up with a satisfying conclusion.

Plus, there’s one last joke after the end credits role. It’s the big reveal of Riley’s deepest, darkest secret.

Change can most certainly be a scary thing, as Riley learns. But, like life’s changes, all those changes behind the scenes of Inside Out 2 have resulted in something even better than had previously been thought possible.

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.