When you hear the word Pixar, the first thing that comes to mind is probably their tearjerker movies. Movies such as Up, Toy Story 3, Coco, Soul, and Turning Red are some of my favorites. Now a new Pixar movie has become my favorite from their catalog: Inside Out 2.
The film’s 2015 prequel, Inside Out takes place in the mind of a girl named Riley Anderson. The film centers on an 11-year-old Riley who is struggling with her family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco, California and she struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. She has five emotions. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust and they all live in her head in a place called Headquarters. Joy and Sadness get sucked out and have to find a way back. As someone who’s moved to and from many places like New Jersey, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Maryland twice, I really understood Riley’s situation of trying to adjust to her new home and school. And it’s even funnier that I share my first name with her.
Finally, 9 years later, Pixar released the sequel, Inside Out 2. According to IMDB, Inside Out 2 is “A sequel that features Riley entering puberty and experiencing new, more complex emotions as a result. As Riley tries to adapt to her teenage years, her old emotions try to adapt to the possibility of being replaced.” Initially, I didn’t think a sequel was really necessary and that it would just be a waste of time like Toy Story 4. But after watching it, I can say it is a well-written and accurate reflection of the life of teens like myself. I can safely say yes, this sequel was absolutely necessary. I guess I am not alone because IMDB’s report shows that the movie got 7.6/10 stars, 91% Rotten Tomatoes, $1.699 billion in the box office, and many positive reviews from fans and critics alike.
Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, and Lewis Black return to voice Joy, Sadness, and Anger, respectively, but the voice actors for Disgust and Fear have been replaced by Liza Lapira and Tony Hale. Riley also gets a voice change, as Kensingnton Tallman takes over from Kaitlyn Dias. As for the rest of the cast, the new emotions, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Nostalgia are voiced by Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, and June Squibb.
Riley’s personality and actions are very relatable to me. As a young tween, I was always trying to fit in with the “cool” kids and constantly changed my personality just so they would accept me. In this new film, Riley dying her hair red like the Firehawks hockey team leader Val Ortiz, ditching her old friends, Grace and Bree to go be with a cooler gang, and hiding how she really feels are all very relatable actions. I’m glad they didn’t make her a stereotypical teen that gushes about boys and screams about literally everything as there is so much more to puberty and early teenage life.
Riley’s emotions are very well-written. Joy is awesome and I feel bad for hating her in the first movie. Anger was really good too. I like how he was always comforting Joy when she was in the feels. Anxiety is the most accurate and most relatable emotion. Ennui scrolling on her phone the whole time and freaking out when Sadness took it is so me. And honestly, Nostalgia needed more screentime because she is an underrated gem. Her rose colored glasses were such a nice touch.
And then, the panic attack scene at the end. Anyone who’s watched this knows what I’m talking about. It is such a stressful and emotional scene and I cried when I saw it for the first time. It was nice seeing Riley, Grace, and Bree make up and seeing the other emotions save Riley from the negativity she was feeding herself. There are many reviews and videos talking about how this scene accurately portrays a real panic attack because of Riley’s loud panting, rapid heartbeat, and things like hitting her head on her hockey stick and grabbing her chest. It’s crazy how Pixar can just get real like that.
Inside Out 2 is quite literally an emotional rollercoaster. It’s definitely worth watching, unlike some of the other sequels Pixar has made in the past like Toy Story 4 and Cars 2. Following Inside Out 2’s success, Pixar released a spinoff series on Disney+ called Dream Productions. It’s a prequel series that follows the stories of the Dream Productions team trying to create the perfect dream for Riley. So what are you waiting for? Click off this tab and go watch Inside Out 2! You will not be disappointed, but you will be crying for several hours…
