Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2

Teenager Riley's mind headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.

  • Released: 2024-06-12
  • Runtime: 100 minutes
  • Genre: Animation, Drama, Family
  • Stars: Amy Poehler, Steve Purcell, Maya Hawke, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, June Squibb, Ayo Edebiri, Paul Walter Hauser, James Austin Johnson, Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Yvette Nicole Brown, Sarayu Blue, Ron Funches
  • Director: Kelsey Mann
 Comments
  • codyjarvis-75231 - 4 July 2024
    Wow, must see.
    I'll admit I was skeptical going into the film and thought it would be a disaster but it did a great job of building on the new characters and showing just how much of an impact some of our emotions can have on us. I would even say this was my favorite of the two films. I think that with how well Disney handled their characters and story with this film, if they were to pursue a third installment they would without a doubt have no issues whatsoever. The nine years it took them to release this film was worth the wait and I will happily wait another nine years if it means a three-qual of the same caliber.
  • drawlife - 2 July 2024
    A good follow-up that will resonate.
    I quite liked the first INSIDE OUT. It was a refreshing, well thought out concept and Pixar's most ambitious and most subtly intelligent film yet. The sequel is worthy follow up. The conceptual level this film operates on is still a pleasure to watch on screen. We hit the puberty/growing up stage with Riley and watching it all unfold, you know that at one point we all felt that way around that age in some fashion, so it kinda hits home.

    The new emotions are a nice addition to the film, the highlight being of course Anxiety. What they do with Anxiety voiced by Maya Hawke is quite clever because she's the reason why a clichéd plot feels fresh. You can't get more clichéd than a teen girl going to a new school (playing hockey), wanting to get in with the new cool kids, which leads to a tension with her old friends. It just feels new here because you see it work inside her head with Anxiety leading the charge. I also liked how the other emotions that were picked also correspond to growing up/puberty such as Embarrassment, Ennui and Envy.

    The only thing that felt like sequelitis is the story beats - for example the first film had Joy and Sadness apart from the control center, making their way back and now here it's all the old crew making their way back. Fear, Anger and Disgust took over without Joy and Sadness in the first film. Here the new crew of emotions take over. It's not a huge deal, but there's some area of familiarity and kind of by the book.

    The new belief system called "Sense of Self" that looks like a tree, is also a nice conceptual touch as well. The tree houses memories and feelings that form Riley's beliefs, so if the first film was about understanding your emotions, this sequel touches on how your emotions can change your understanding of yourself.

    Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith anchor the film. Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader were replaced, but it doesn't really take away from the film. Tony Hale and Liza Lapira take over commendably, but honestly a lot of these big budget animated films can really cast professional voice actors in the roles instead of big names.

    I also wanted to point out that I'm just not the target audience for movies like this, and my biggest gripe about the first film was Bing Bong's "death." I got what the film was trying to say, but it's just the one part in the film that I felt tried too hard to tug my heart strings. Plus it didn't help that I didn't really care for the character, but I know I'm in the minority. So with that being said, I liked how the sequel didn't need another "gut-punch" moment or tried too hard to make me feel emotional. It was more subtle about it and I appreciated that a lot. That's just my acquired taste I suppose.

    Like the first film, there's a lot of visual appeal. Animation is gorgeous to look at. You can get lost at all the colors and detail. Kudos to the animators.

    Overall, for a film that's nine years late it delivers and doesn't miss the mark. It doesn't quite reach the heights of the original because well, this is a sequel. It's hard to outdo the first, hence why there's only a handful of sequels that are better than the original, but it does enough and gives enough.

    8/10.