Movie Review: Inside Out 2
Rating: 4 Stars
It was already challenging enough to fashion an animated kid's movie that considers what a journey inside the human mind is like with characters based on emotions. All the while simultaneously considering how these emotions play out in real time. Inside Out did this well but leaned heavily on the dichotomy of joy and sadness.
Inside Out 2 nearly a decade later decides to raise the stakes and tackle puberty with the addition of four new emotions on top of the fab five: joy, sadness, anger, disgust, and fear. In the sequel, we are introduced to anxiety, envy, disappointment, and boredom. Mind control headquarters inside the brain of teenage Riley is starting to pile up.
Director and story writer Kelsey Mann strikes an impeccable balance between the emotional turmoil of being during puberty and crafting a narrative inside Riley’s mind that binds the outside world to the inside. Inside Out 2 is chock-full of relatable moments and lines that even the emotions inside her brain start to have an arc of their own.
The film starts on the up and up. Riley (Kensington Tallman) is a hockey star who wants to make the high school team with her two best friends from middle school. As they set off to a three-day hockey camp, Riley learns her friends won’t be attending the same school as her. Uh oh. Enter new complex teenage emotions.
The star of the show is Anxiety (Maya Hawke) who starts to take the place of Joy. Joy (Amy Poehler) explains in the opening scenes that Riley is built on core principles beyond her personality islands established in the first film. It’s a crucial addition to explain one’s sense of self. The core principles developed from your life experiences can guide what you think about yourself. If you seek opportunities to do good, you’ll likely rely on the principle of being a good person.
Of course, there has to be room for growth and change. Anxiety begins to question Riley’s path. What if Riley can’t impress Valentina, the superstar hockey player for the Firebirds? Riley won’t have any friends in her new school. What if she doesn't perform well at the camp? The hockey coach won’t pick her for the team. Anxiety changes Riley.
Some of the initial changes seem positive. Riley arrives to practice early and works hard. She tries to fit in with Valentina and her friends. This comes at the expense of her middle school friends who watch her become more distant. Riley is faced with tough choices and lets her anxiety and envy overcome her former principles.
Anxiety excommunicates Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Anger and removes her old core principles to begin building a new one in her image. It’s a haunting thought. Joy leads the crew to recover Riley’s old sense of self to return Riley to the person she knows and loves.
There are some silly gags including a Dora doppelganger, Bloofy, and a generic fighting game character, Lance Slashblade. Bloofy (Ron Funches) and his talking pouch pay off for a big laugh later in the film.
Meg LeFauve is credited on the story and screenplay along with Dave Holstein who is also credited on the screenplay. Two thumbs way up to them and Mann. At every turn Inside Out 2 fervently nails its premise and sticks the landing.
Inside Out 2 is a pleasant surprise considering Pixar’s sequels vary in terms of quality. Inside Out 2 surpasses its predecessor by using its conceptual rulebook and refining it to say even more about how our emotions carry us through our lives. Riley’s story is more grounded this go-round than built on exaggerated childhood drama. Growing apart from old friends and trying to make new ones is a more universal experience.
Inside Out is cleverly written, compact, and intentional. There’s an occasional awkward line or moment, but the majority of the film is brilliant. There are great laughs and unironically real emotion especially as Riley’s situation becomes more dire.
Inside Out 2 is Pixar back at its best.
