If you have been reluctant to watch the much talked about family-friendly, coming-of-age animated film, “Inside Out 2,” it might be time to give it a watch. With a budget of $200 million, the film has generated $1.134 billion in the first month since its release and that number is projected to climb.
Is it worth the hype? It seems so.
Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the 2024 film comes nine years after the first “Inside Out.”
The film picks up where the first left off, telling the story of blue-eyed, blonde-haired Riley Andersen.
During the first years of her life, Riley had advocates that lived within her head that helped run her life. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust — each with their own personality and color — have been running the show.
But something peculiar happens. After Riley blows out the candles of her 13th birthday cake, everything changes. And more colors pop into her world.
Overnight, Riley’s life — and body — changes. This is not an awkward “Oh, my body is changing from a biological standpoint” story. It is about how emotions and belief systems shift once you hit puberty. It is about dealing with regulating your emotions instead of simply self-soothing. It is about practicing empathy while maintaining your integrity. It is about opening your eyes and finding your way into the world you live in, either in your mind or in your physical reality. Or both.
Newcomer Anxiety shows up with Embarrassment, Envy and Ennui in tow.
Riley still centers ice hockey and her best friends but now has to deal with new complex emotions that are new to her.
With a newly-formed element taking over Riley’s mind, identified as her “Sense of Self,” the party gets bigger. That new part of her brain, which houses good and bad memories, becomes confusing. And now, her new belief system keeps morphing with every decision she makes.
Amy Poehler returns to voice Joy, the protective yellow emotion that takes on a leadership role and feels most responsible to ensure that Riley is constantly happy.
Newcomer to the “Inside Out” world is Maya Hawke as Anxiety, the angsty new orange-tinged emotion that is likely the most relatable for many teens. She tries to avoid pain but clumsily causes even more pain.
While the two films are nine years apart, Riley was 11 in the first film and is 13 in the newest version.
And while some of the cast returned for this iteration, it also had some big changes.
This time, Riley’s teen voice comes from Kensington Tallman who took over the role from Kaitlyn Rose Dias, who voiced Riley in the first film. Diane Lane returned to voice Riley’s mother, while the voice actor who played her father changed.
In fact, “Inside Out 2” is the feature directorial debut of Kelsey Mann, who took over from Pete Docter, who directed the first. Meg LeFauve returned as co-writer of the screenplay, and the story was conceived by both LeFauve and Mann.
You could easily watch “Inside Out 2” without having seen its predecessor — the standalone narrative in the sequel offers a fresh chapter in the story. But once you watch this version, you might be compelled the watch the first.
To me, the relatable push-and-pull between the “I’m not good enough” and “I’m a good person” embodies what many of us go through, no matter our age. The fact that this comes from the point of view of a young girl further shows the filmmakers’ clear stance on attempting to make girls’ complex emotions worthy of a complete film.
It will make you feel like you’ve just brought out your inside emotions, well, out.
