“Inside Out 2” is a whirlwind of feelings that takes you to the depths of your inner self where you never thought you would go. Was it a total miss or a beautiful take on the human mind?
On June 10, 2024, Pixar released the long awaited sequel to “Inside Out” which excited fans had been waiting for since the teaser trailer released in the fall of 2023.
Viewers are captivated by the story line as “Inside Out 2” follows Riley, voiced by Kensington Tallman, a now teenage girl through her inner conflict as she starts to experience new emotions and questions which is more important: staying true to herself or “fitting in”?
The movie opens with Riley as a happy preteen with her two best friends. Hockey, her main hobby, is going amazing and her emotions Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), Disgust (Liza Lapira) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) are working well together to keep Riley content.
Her life is running smoothly until their drive to hockey camp, where she finds out her friends are going to be attending a different high school with a different hockey team. This causes new emotions to join the crew such as Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos).
Riley is unsure of how to cope with this new frenzy of emotions and chaos ensues, until she ultimately learns to control her emotions instead of letting them control her.
This movie was a great addition to the Pixar films, making viewers feel so many emotions at once, all coming together to create a delightfully fun, yet heartfelt film. The animation style was very pleasing and the Pixar effect we know and love was so recognizable, however in the midst of all of this, the true message may have gotten lost.
“Inside Out 2” focused too much on anxiety as the antagonist, and the other emotions such as Ennui, felt like an afterthought. Additionally, the parent-child relationship that was so well-represented in the first movie was missing from Riley’s journey, as it was set mostly at hockey camp.
The most important point, however, is that “Inside Out 2” succeeded in covering more mature concepts in this movie, which made it very thought provoking to teenagers and adults. But ultimately, it takes away from the “children’s movie” aspect of the film.
For example, Anxiety is a very complex disorder, and hard to explain to children. And while they explained it in the simplest way they could, a six-year-old watching the movie may have trouble understanding the message for they haven’t yet experienced this.
That being said, this movie was so interesting with many twists and turns making it fascinating to watch. It really shows viewers the complexity of our minds, making it relatable to teenagers and allowing many adults to reminisce about their teenage years.
Overall, “Inside Out 2” missed a few major points by focusing too much on anxiety, excluding the parents and missing that family-friendly comfort. However, it is still a must-watch movie that will teach you unforgettable life lessons.
