Inside Out 2 stars Amy Poechler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black and welcomes new emotions played by Tony Hale, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, and Paul Walter Hauser.
Riley is about to start high school and her mind is set in overdrive when her old emotions meet her new emotions.
Inside Out, I believe is one Pixar’s greatest hits because of the way it demonstrates the emotions that we undergo through beautifully rendered animation that both adults and children can understand. Inside Out 2 continues to carry the charm of its predecessor while introducing new characters without stealing the focus of the previous emotions.
It has been about almost 10 years since the original Inside Out and I wouldn’t expect the animation to be improved drastically since the first film already included phenomenal animation but I am so glad to be proven wrong. While viewing the film, I was in awe of the animation of all of the emotions and how you can see the individual pixelation of each of them. Additionally, the animation was so realistic they made tears run down Riley’s face and the hair strands of the characters seem real. Along with the talented voice actors, I can’t picture anyone else as Sadness other than Phyllis Smith, she continues to be my favorite but Maya Hawke’s Anxiety was superb. It is unfortunate that we didn’t get Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling to reprise their roles but Tony Hale and Liza Lapira did such a wonderful job in creating their own versions without diminishing the original.
We all wondered, how would Pixar Studios handle Riley going through puberty in a family-friendly way because puberty is definitely not an experience that is friendly for family. The introduction of Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy, and Boredom, was a very relatable experience and the research that goes into this production really shows how much the directors, the writers, and the team wanted to convey these emotions as realistic as possible. I believe Anxiety is the one of the main controls throughout my adolescence (kinda still is) and that Anxiety basically kicked Joy out of Riley’s mind was such a clever way to explain how overthinking can be a thief of happiness. While having Envy as the co-pilot with the admiration and the need to be accepted being the top priority. One of my favorite scenes, (spoiler), is when Riley was having a full blown panic attack with Anxiety being out of control and she was able to calm herself down with grounding techniques that has been proven as an effective coping skill. As an audience member, you can feel Riley’s relief. This film was able to convey the message of how we can grow and the importance of maintaining our true selves throughout our growth.
Like with any sequel, Inside Out 2 definitely had its work cut out for it by maintaining the integrity of the first but at the same time, introducing something entirely new to the audience. I believe Inside Out 2 accomplishes that and then some and continues to teach us to love the complexity of ourselves and the beauty of it all.
