‘Inside Out 2’ Movie Review: Pixar Introduces New Emotions in an Enchantingly Relatable Package
Photo from Disney/Pixar
From Jeff Nelson
Pixar’s Lightyear aside, the animated giant has dedicated most of its efforts to original stories with the likes of Elemental, Turning Red, and Luca. Now, Kelsey Mann’s Inside Out 2 brings back one of the studio’s most beloved films, introducing new emotions in the complicated mind of a teenage girl. Yet, the story remains alarmingly relatable to audiences of all ages. It’s funny, heartfelt, and engaging, even though it relies too much on recreating moments from Pete Docter’s 2015 original.
A year after the events of Inside Out, Riley Andersen (voiced by Kensington Tallman) enters a new stage of her life with her 13th birthday. Coach Roberts (voiced by Yvette Nicole Brown) invites her to a weekend hockey camp along with her best friends, Bree (voiced by Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and Grace (voiced by Grace Lu). The pressure of a new environment and the onset of puberty incite the arrival of new emotions Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke), Envy (voiced by Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (voiced by Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (voiced by Paul Walter Hauser).
As the movie opens, we’re reintroduced to Riley and the emotions we’ve already met – Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), Anger (voiced by Lewis Black), Fear (voiced by Tony Hale), and Disgust (voiced by Liza Lapira). Yes, this is intended as a recap of sorts, but also to demonstrate how the emotions learned a healthy balance between their conflicting perspectives of Riley’s life. Joy remains the group’s leader, although she hasn’t entirely learned her lesson from Inside Out. Despite her positive intentions, she still seeks complete control over Riley’s personality, memories, and emotions, which retreads ground we’ve already covered.
Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment interrupt the status quo, appearing soon after the onset of the literal puberty alarm. The core group attempts to work with their new co-workers, but it becomes increasingly clear that Anxiety is taking over Joy’s role as the leader, disintegrating the emotions’ dynamics. This internal struggle plays out in Riley’s painfully realistic hardships of impending loneliness as her best friends reveal that they’re transferring schools, and she fears that her performance at the weekend hockey camp will determine her high school experience.
Inside Out 2 deals with valid coming-of-age worries, particularly as Riley’s emotions quarrel over the young woman she is meant to become. However, Dave Holstein and Meg LeFauve’s screenplay leads with its creativity and humor, packing the runtime with loads of playful wordplay to a fault. There are some laugh-out-loud moments guaranteed to land with audiences across various age groups, but they’re occasionally handled as a priority over the story’s emotional core, which is severely lacking in comparison to the 2015 original.
Pixar never holds back when it comes to the vibrant, show-stopping animation, and Inside Out 2 is no exception. Riley’s mind is visually gorgeous across its environments, while her reality sheds some of its cartoonish edge with breathtaking detail. The voice cast is similarly impressive, although Hawke’s vocal performance as Anxiety is a notable standout.
Inside Out 2 is an endearing sequel with an impactful message and plenty of humor, even though the adventure follows its predecessor’s formula with only a fraction of the emotional punch. It holds a mirror to some unpleasant moments in our adolescence when we try to find our place in the world. Anxiety contributes the greatest amount of nuance to this animated adventure, while the other emotions are frustratingly glazed over. The story leaves the door open to more sequels in Riley’s world, which will hopefully push beyond the pattern.
Rating: 3.5/5
Inside Out 2 hits theaters on June 14th, 2024.
