The original Inside Out was a very inspired idea by the folks at Pixar. It anthropomorphized emotions as a way of showing a child wrestling with the difficulty of moving to a new place, leaving everything they know behind. Taking place mainly in the mind of young Riley Anderson, it explored feelings in a creative way and served as a fairly standard family-friendly adventure, in which two of the emotions got lost in Riley’s head and journeyed through strange places to get back to the control room. It was funny, fun and poignant, for all-ages.
Though it worked as a standalone story, it definitely seemed rich enough of a concept for a second chapter. So here we go nine years later with Inside Out 2, wherein a now teenage Riley gets some new emotions, leading to a power struggle and another desperate trip through a bunch of metaphors to get back to their home. It is a little too derivative of the first entry at times, but there is enough to mine from the premise that it doesn’t stop this from being pretty enjoyable. It is smart, amusing, touching and, at only 86 minutes (plus a post-credits scene), it never wears out its welcome. The classic era of Pixar, where everything they turned out was gold, is probably gone for good. However, they can still make solid entertainment.
As we rejoin Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear, Riley is entering into puberty. That leads to the introduction of Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui, causing a major identity crisis for Riley during an important weekend at hockey camp.
In the original, Sadness was coloring Riley’s memories and Joy’s attempts to prevent this led to the two of them accidentally being transported far from home, leaving the others in charge of Riley. Here, Anxiety takes over and decides our returning five heroes aren’t needed anymore. She sends them away, forcing them to try to find their way back to save the day. The difference is that more urgency is put on Riley’s drama, lending extra tension to which emotions are controlling her.
For a thirteen-year-old, dealing with friendship, sports and the looming start of high school is harrowing enough without emotions warring within you. This series makes that battle literal and it remains quite effective this go-round. Last time, the problems began because Joy wanted all of Riley’s memories to be happy. Here, it is Anxiety getting Riley to panic about her sense of self. Anxiety causes Riley to make several questionable decisions in an effort to fit in with the highschoolers she is hoping to team with freshman year.
That material works very well. The Riley scenes are really strong, as we see her navigate her scary new feelings. The stuff going on in the control room with Anxiety is also compelling. Less interesting is the quest Joy and friends go on to thwart Anxiety’s goal of changing Riley into someone unrecognizable. There are a few funny gags as they traverse Riley’s mind, yet this arc felt far too similar to the first Inside Out. They even revisit some of the same locations. Usually, Pixar movies are stronger when they lean into the fantastical. Inside Out 2 is more engaging when it sticks closer to Riley.
There are enough new ideas, and the premise is still tremendously affecting. My main complaint is that too much time is spent on a familiar plot involving characters (the returning emotions) who, by their nature, can’t evolve. Otherwise, it is a “for all ages” animated comedy-adventure, that is extremely relatable. There may not be juice left in this fruit after this, but this sequel certainly justifies a second squeeze.
3½ out of 5
Voice Cast:
Amy Poehler as Joy
Maya Hawke as Anxiety
Phyllis Smith as Sadness
Kensington Tallman as Riley
Lewis Black as Anger
Liza Lapira as Disgust
Tony Hale as Fear
Ayo Edebiri as Envy
Adèle Exarchopoulos as Ennui
Directed by Kelsey Mann
Screenplay by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein
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