Pixar is in quite a fascinating spot at the moment and even for the better part of the last 15 years! Even when delivering a handful of quality and/or downright excellent films over that time period, they’ve always seemed to be in a position to prove themselves with ever new entry they’ve released since the 2010s rolled around. It doesn’t matter that they put out Inside Out, Coco, Soul, and Turning Red during that time because Cars 2, Brave, The Good Dinosaur, and Lightyear all exist as well. This mindset especially takes center stage whenever they put out a sequel that is not Toy Story related (and even then, the last few they put out in Toy Story 4 and Lightyear got plenty of folks barking). Despite the majority of them turning out to be a success from both a critical and financial standpoint (Finding Dory, The Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4), they always tend to get heavily scrutinized for either not being as good as the original or just for the pure fact that they even exist at all. This thought process going into each non-original Pixar installment is very infuriating to me.
I understand in this day and age where people have more of an eye of what’s going on from behind the scenes then ever before and the corporate politics that come into play are as incredibly obvious as they come but at the end of the day, you have to judge each film as their own thing and not based on how much you detest the creativity black hole in Hollywood. I bring this up because for all the good that there is to be found in Inside Out 2, I can only imagine we will see those exact counter arguments against it that you would not find for other sequels made by other animated studios.
As for the movie itself, it’s about as good of a sequel to the original Inside Out as you can get, and in some ways is even better than the first one. It still does it’s job in taking the series to the next level, where we follow Riley taking the next steps into her life, not only becoming a teenager but being more aware of the world that surrounds here. It still has that same heart, it still has that same music, and it still has the same emotions but it is also has the same form of creativity that the very best of Pixar films have. If the original Inside Out is one that resonated the most with children, then Inside Out 2 is one that I can see resonating with teenagers and adults. Even if I slightly prefer the first one, the sequel is more than a worthy companion piece to it that should not be dismissed in any way, shape, or form.
Premise: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale) and Disgust (Liza Lapira) have been running a successful operation by all accounts. However, when Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) shows up, they aren’t sure how to feel.
Even if you take into the account of the numerous amount of sequels that Pixar has made for the past 15 years, I’ve argued that Inside Out was the first Pixar film outside of Toy Story that had more than enough material to justify making multiple sequels out of here. Mostly because, just like with the Toy Story sequels, Inside Out 2 seems most interested in taking the characters to the next step on their journey along with continuing the themes involving growing up, getting older, and finding your place in the world along the way. Those themes ring true to not just the story with Joy and her fellow emotion companions but also to Riley herself.
While Joy and the emotions of old and new that come into play do have a main significant role in the film, the main beating heart reigns with Riley. Not that it wasn’t the case in the first movie but here, we clearly see that Riley is now in the part of her life where she must gain controls of her emotions instead of letting the emotions control her. As she is now hitting the age of a teenager, she has now become more aware of the imperfect and flawed world around her. She loves hockey and her friends but if she can’t make the right choices, then there’s a chance that neither one of those factors can happen. It’s only when finding control of her emotions where Riley can determine the outcome of whether or not she can make the new hockey team, and still connect with friends of old and new. Whereas the first Inside Out saw the original emotions due the heavy lifting for Riley because she was still at the age where she didn’t know any better, Inside Out 2 shows the character having to learn to keep the original and new emotions in check, and having to do so at the most crucial part of her life.
That makes the arc that Joy goes through be a perfect counterpart to Riley’s own growth. Much like with Woody in Toy Story 2, Joy must come to terms with the fact that she can’t control Riley, no matter how hard she tries. As you get older and get more experience in the real world, it gets harder to stay positive and optimistic because you are now more aware of the consequences that you can go through when things don’t work out. And this usually always come during a time where you must develop your own self conscious and have better control of your emotions. Even if she can’t make Riley into what she wants her to be, Joy must do everything she can to be there for Riley whenever her own kid needs her. It’s parallels like these that help make Inside Out 2 stand out as a really affective and worthwhile sequel.
It’s not just Joy that gets the spotlight but the other emotions get their time to shine as well. This time around, it sees the original group of emotions with Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust go on this adventure together as they must get back up to the tower to stop Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui from controlling Riley. Each one of them get their own standout moments and it’s interesting to see them all develop different emotions within them the way that Joy was able to in the original Inside Out and even now.
And of course, you got to mention the new players in Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui. Anxiety is definitely the biggest standout as the leader of the group and taking matters into her own hands. Much like with the way the first film portrays Sadness, I respect the fact that the film doesn’t look to portray Anxiety as a villain but more as an antagonist. She’s not trying to do everything because she’s evil but because she thinks that is the right thing to do, even if her methods are rather flawed. Envy is cuter than a bag of kittens, Embarrassment is able to get his own G.O.A.T. moment as perhaps the most relatable of the new emotions, and Ennui is just the perfect description of Generation Z always on their phones in a nutshell.
The voice cast from top to bottom is stellar all around! Amy Poehler brings just as much joy (no pun intended), charm, and energy as she did in the first film, the new additions of Maya Hawke & Ayo Edebiri as Anxiety and Envy are such an absolute blast as well, and even if the (unfortunate) departing of Bill Hader as Fear and the (fortunate) departing of Mindy Kailing as Disgust is noticeable, both Tony Hale and Liza Lapira fit into the roles rather well, with Lapira in particular standing out much better than Kailing. Also, a big shoutout to Adele Exarchopoulos as Ennui. And Ron Funches as Bloofy. And Yong Yea as Lance Slashblade. And pretty much anyone else I didn’t mention. Moving on!
The animation is as breathtakingly beautiful as you would expect for a Disney film in 2024, the expansion of Riley’s mind is explored as well as it can be, the music is as soothing as before, and while there’s not quite a sad bit on par with Bing-Bong or a funny bit on par with “GIRL ALERT!”, the film does provide enough unique beats of emotion and comedy of it’s own that it more than makes up for it. The standout sequence in particular is one that I imagine will be the main talking point of this movie and the moment that I imagine the folks behind Pixar took inspiration from Uncut Gems. I’m sure Adam Sandler would be proud of that.
The nine-year long awaited sequel to Pixar’s surprise hit in 2015 is as every bit of affective, earnest, and heartful as it’s predecessor. This is arguably the first Pixar sequel not related to Toy Story that seems to have more on it’s mind to justify it’s own existence other than branding and merchandising. Going from seeing Riley as a youth moving to San Francisco to a teenager looking to make it into the high school hockey team with the popular girls, this sequel takes the logical next step into showcasing the inner turmoil of taking the next step to puberty with anxiety, envy, ennui, and embarrassment entering the picture, portrayed perfectly by newcomers Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adele Exarchopoulos, and Paul Walter Hauser. There are nits to be picked such as having a familiar plot and structure as the original and a wrap-up that perhaps is a bit too squeaky clean by Pixar standards but as a whole, Inside Out 2 is able to act greatly as a natural continuation and expansion of the first movie’s story and themes.
As much as plenty of folks have been down on Pixar as of late with it’s abundance of sequels, I sure hope that Inside Out 2 is good enough for them that they can let it all slide and appreciate the film the way it was suppose to be appreciate. I can only hope these same folks get their butts in theaters around this time next year for Elio and whatever original film that is slated to come out in March 2026. Only then will they have a right to complain! But for me, after two films this great, I would welcome a third film with open arms!
Bring on Inside Out 3 if you may! (Oh and please bring Lance Slashblade in Kingdom Hearts 4!)
Adam's Blog 