Product Info

Studio

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Pixar)

Director

Kelsey Mann

Genre

Adventure, Animation, Family

Rated

PG

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Jun 14, 2024

Film Length

1hr 36min

Purchase From

After nine years, Inside Out’s sequel continues the chapter of the four emotions that reside in the human child named Riley. Now that Riley is entering her teenage years, new emotions are introduced to Joy and the team. It’s a crowd inside Riley’s head as things get messy regarding who’s in control. A new adventure to save Riley’s personality is at stake once more, but it’s good to see the ol’ gang back once more.

New Flood of Feelings

WHO’S THERE? – In Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith), Anger (voice of Lewis Black), Fear (voice of Tony Hale) and Disgust (voice of Liza Lapira) aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety (voice of Maya Hawke) shows up unexpectedly. Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, “Inside Out 2” releases only in theaters Summer 2024. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Inside Out 2 continues where things left off from the original. The five original emotions, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear, work together to help Riley grow. After getting comfortable with her new location in California, Riley has made new friends to play hockey together. Coach Roberts asks Riley and friends to join her three-day summer camp for hockey. If they impress Roberts, they’ll have a chance in joining the roster in high school.

While all things are looking positive, a turn of events occur overnight, puberty. Joy and the gang notice that no matter how they touch the control panel of Riley’s options, it goes overboard. For example, when Sadness pushes the sad emotion on the control panel, Riley breaks down heavier than usual. Later on, new emotions join Joy and team: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui. These new emotions try to work with the original team, but conflict arises.

A Familiar Feeling

NEW EMOTIONS — Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as new Emotions show up. Embarrassment (voice of Paul Walter Hauser), Anxiety (voice of Maya Hawke), Envy (voice of Ayo Edebiri) and Ennui (voice of Adèle Exarchopoulos) are ready to take a turn at the console. Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, “Inside Out 2” releases only in theaters June 14, 2024. © 2024 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

For those who remembered the first film where Joy did most of the controlling and kept Sadness away, it feels like it’s happening all over again. Joy’s insecure of the direction Anxiety wants to take Riley in. For example, Anxiety and the new emotions are looking to have Riley make new friends at summer camp and leave her school friends alone because both of her friends are going to a different high school than Riley after summer, which Riley just recently found out right before summer camp.

With the conflict of the direction of Riley’s growth, Anxiety and the new emotions literally bottle up the original emotions and have them sent to the vault outside the control panel until they are called upon. Joy and the gang manage to escape with the help of forgotten figures from Riley’s life, such as a pre-school cartoon character. Meanwhile, Anxiety takes over for Joy to try to get Riley to fit in with the high school students at camp. It goes positively well with the new emotions, but things begin to go downhill. While the new emotions are absent, Joy and team journey to the back of Riley’s head to retrieve an object that was pulled and thrown away by Anxiety. Placing the object back would help bring back Riley’s original personality. The adventure Joy and the other emotions go through feels very familiar to the first one where Joy and Sadness had to travel back to the emotion control room. At least the audience can witness how Anger, Disgust, and Fear handle their fair share of adventuring.

Hooked on a Feeling

WHAT IS HAPPENING? – In Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith), Anger (voice of Lewis Black), Fear (voice of Tony Hale) and Disgust (voice of Liza Lapira) are awakened to an alarming reality: everything is changing now that Riley is 13. Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, “Inside Out 2” releases only in theaters Summer 2024. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve enjoyed the emotions from the first film, they’re back with both returning and new voice actors. While Disgust and Fear are voiced by new people, the actors do a great job filling in the roles. Anxiety is a fun character and really takes over, similar to how anxiety performs for many in the real world. In the film, it does a great job representing how anxiety can work, such as staying up all night worrying about the things you cannot control and getting up earlier than normal to prevent the unknown.

Viewers also get to see a new emotion named Nostalgia, but they get turned away in a comical way. The comedy is fun for all ages and done well enough to get the adults to laugh with spoof characters like the pre-school cartoon figure. There are good solid laughs throughout the film.

Visuals are colorful and details are well done both inside Riley’s head and outside. The colors chosen for the new emotions are great, such as pink for embarrassment that resembles the skin tone when feeling that emotion. Inside Out 2 shows more screen time of Riley growing and interacting in the real world than the previous film. It does a better job showing more of the cause and effect the emotions are making for her.

The soundtrack brings back familiar songs from the previous film, but outside of that, the audience will spend more time focusing on the events than thinking about the music.

The Final Emotion

Inside Out 2 is an amusing film that does a great job continuing the story from the first one, but at the same time, it feels too familiar. If you’ve enjoyed the first film, don’t let your emotions stop you from watching this one.

An early screening provided for this review.