Inside Out 2

Following the release of Cars 2, the quality of Pixar’s output had become inconsistent and a step down from their golden years, which allowed the original Inside Out to stand out as their best movies in years at that time, and it still holds up to this day. Their sequels have also been rather hit or miss, so when Inside Out 2 was announced and the trailers began to arrive, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it since their preceding film, Elemental, didn’t really impress from a storytelling standpoint and original director Pete Docter was not at the helm. Despite this, I was still willing to attend an afternoon screening on opening day, with an article in the physical Animation Magazine giving me at least some assurance that some care was taken with staying true to the original. Having gone in with tempered expectations, I walked away feeling like I had seen their best film since 2021’s Luca.

Following the events of the original Inside Out, a now 13-year-old Riley (Kensington Tallman) and her friends are invited to a weekend hockey camp before the next school year starts. Prior to going, Riley starts to hit puberty, leading to her emotions inside her head, Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Tony Hale), Disgust (Liza Lapira) and Anger (Lewis Black), to have to deal with some changes of their own. Shortly before being dropped off at camp, Riley finds out that her friends are going to a different school than her, making things more complicated as she begins to develop the new emotions Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

 

New emotions have developed in Riley's head.
From left: Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Anxiety (Maya Hawke),
Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

When I first saw trailers for this film, I was skeptical on how the new emotions would fit in with established lore, but they do actually get explained in a way that justifies their inclusion (ex. Fear tries to protect Riley from what she can see, but Anxiety tries to protect her from what she can’t), with any initial inconsistencies smoothly resolved in a mid-credits sequence. While revisiting areas of Riley’s mind, we also get to see some new areas of the mind that are presented in a way that’s internally consistent with what came before, such as the stream of consciousness and sarcasm. I will also say that the film’s depiction of anxiety, both in and out of Riley’s head, was handled expertly and felt very real. Although the plot does follow some similar story beats to the first, it still does enough that’s different to not feel like a lazy rehash.

The visuals are greatly improved over the first film, with enhanced visuals for the emotions and some realistic detail in the outside world that strikes a good balance with its stylized character designs. Particularly impressive is the seamless integration of multiple animation styles at certain points, which shows a willingness to experiment on Disney/Pixar’s end. This is complimented by some amazing voice acting from the new and returning cast, with Maya Hawke nailing it as Anxiety. Notably, Disgust and Fear were recast respectively with Liza Lapira and Tony Hale, though they are such good sound-alikes for Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader that you can hardly tell the difference.

While Pixar’s track record with sequels isn’t spotless, Inside Out 2 stands as one of their better ones in recent memory. Fans of the first Inside Out will want to check this one out as well, though I would highly recommend newcomers to watch the original first for story purposes.