“Inside Out 2” Delivers a Refreshingly Honest Take on Adult Emotions

It may have taken nine years, but Disney Pixar finally released the sequel to the box office sensation, “Inside Out,” the animated film that highlights the various personified emotions of a young girl named Riley (Kensington Tallman) and how they control her. The first time audiences are welcome into Riley’s head, she is an eleven-year-old child who knows nothing about the world. Now, in the sequel “Inside Out 2,” she is a teenager about to go to high school. She is all grown up and learning to figure out her emotions one step at a time.

In the film, Riley is a talented ice hockey player, and to further improve her skills, she gets invited to an exclusive ice hockey camp with her best friends−Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and Grace (Grace Lu). There, she meets Val Ortiz (Lilimar), a popular ice hockey player in her high school, and Val takes her under her wing. She soon abandons her friends and tries to fit in with the high school girls at the camp.

Meanwhile, in Riley’s head, popularly known as “HQ,” Riley’s main emotions−Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Tony Hale), Disgust (Liza Lapira), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Anger (Lewis Black)−have company in the form of new emotions−Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Bredom (Adele Exarchopoulos), and Nostalgia (June Squibb). These new emotions stage a coup and take over from the former, thus controlling Riley. The thirteen years of hard work training her into a well-bred human has flushed down the drain thanks to the takeover. Led by Anxiety, the new emotions mess up Riley’s mind and lead her to make bad decisions.

“Inside Out 2” showcases how sequels are supposed to be−better than the first film. In “Inside Out,” the only thing Riley has to worry about is a change in environment, but as a teenager, she has to worry about everything changing, from her body to her thoughts. Juxtaposing this with reality, the film is like a mirror of the human mind. We often worry about things like our future, our past, and our present. These worries lead to thoughts, and thoughts lead to actions that can either make or mar us. Riley is really a representation of who we are as people.

The introduction of new emotions is arguably the highlight of the film because like Riley, as we grow, so do they. The addition of Anxiety, and her acting as a sort of nemesis to the main emotions, is the best thing that happened to the film (yes, she did cause chaos, but she deserves her flowers for such wonderful chaos). The accurate representation of the emotion and how it affects daily lives deserves its own Academy Award.

Anxiety is the first new emotion introduced and she carries with her a lot of baggage (literally). This no doubt depicts just how much of a drag having anxiety can be and how it has the capability of weighing us down. When Anxiety takes over from Joy as the new leader and head of HQ, Riley starts misbehaving−she ditches her old friends, messes up at ice hockey, and even goes as far as stealing. She becomes a “different version of Riley” which is concerning.

Anxiety messes with Riley’s mind so much that Joy nearly resigns to fate and tells the other main emotions, “I don’t know how to stop Anxiety. Maybe we can’t. Maybe this is what happens when you grow up; you feel less joy.” Again with the juxtaposition, Anxiety’s actions, along with Joy’s statement, show that as humans, it may be hard to control anxiety (Hawke’s Anxiety spinning around in circles till she becomes a whirlwind is proof of that), but at the same time, we cannot let it control our lives. How we keep that emotion in check is a symbol of strength. The ability of the film to capture human realities entertainingly is the main reason why it was the first film in 2024 to cross the billion-dollar mark at the global box office.

The film’s ending is also worthy of note. Joy lets Riley’s good, bad, and ugly thoughts become one, representing just how much Riley is maturing. She’s processing her “big girl” emotions and learning to live with them, which is what adults do. It is what makes a human because let us be honest, we cannot be positive all the time! It is okay to feel down sometimes or feel like life is not going as planned. Thank you, Disney Pixar for showcasing that.

The animation of the film is executed perfectly thanks to the masterful directing of Kelsey Mann. During the production stage, he was instrumental in pitching the idea of new emotions to Disney Pixar to depict Riley’s transition from a child to a teenager.

Even though there was a switch in voice actors due to disputes over pay, it did not take away from the acting quality as it was outstanding beyond measure. The standout performance is Hawke as Anxiety. Her portrayal as a quasi-villain, along with how she brought the messed-up, all-over-the-place character to life via her voice deserves its flowers. Edebiri as Envy and Poehler reprising her role as Joy also deserve an honorable mention for their great performances.

The nine years of research and thoughtful planning have paid off big time because “Inside Out 2” is one of the best film releases of the year! Instead of being an animation for children, it is a looking glass into what it is like to be an adult and what goes on inside the human mind. It uses animation to teach a host of lessons, ranging from how to process emotions, how to heal from disappointments, how to deal with anxiety, and how to keep swimming despite the darts life throws.

“Inside Out 2” is still showing in cinemas.

Release Date: June 14, 2024

Runtime: 1 hour and 36 minutes

Streaming Service: None. Cinematic Release

Director: Kelsey Mann

Cast: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Adele Exarchopoulos, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, June Squibb, and Paul Walter Hauser