Movie Review: Inside Out 2

Given that it was the seventh-highest-grossing movie of 2015, it was perhaps an inevitability that a sequel would be made to Inside Out. That it took so long is a bit more of a surprise, though it’s fortunately been worth the wait. The original’s story of a preteen girl dealing with a long-distance move as represented by anthropomorphic representations of her emotions took a novel approach to the coming-of-age story that resonated with audiences in a big way, and easily lends itself to a sequel (or two).

This movie picks up one year later, as Riley (Kensington Tallman) is turning 13, heading into her last Summer before high school, and beginning the oh-so-fun puberty years. In her head, Joy (Amy Poehler) is convinced that she and her fellow emotions Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), and Disgust (Liza Lapira) can confidently help Riley navigate all the changes in her life and remain a good person. Riley’s body has other ideas however, and with the chemical changes occurring within her come new emotions Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser).

Riley and her friends Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and Grace (Grace Lu) are admitted to a Hockey Camp, where high school coach Roberts (Yvette Nicole Brown) has been known to select attendees for automatic enrollment in the team. When Riley learns that the girls will be going to different schools in the Fall, she is forced to decide if she wants to spend her time at camp getting to play with her friends one last time or try to ingratiate herself with the high schoolers that she hopes to be skating with as a freshman, led by team captain Valentina (Lilimar).

Joy wants Riley to relish the remaining time with Bree and Grace but Anxiety has plotted out all the ways that doing so will lead to her being an outcast in high school and wants to push her to befriend Valentina. The two quickly find themselves at odds and Anxiety winds up banishing Joy and the other original emotions from the control room so she can set about pushing Riley the direction she wants her to go. Joy refuses to give up and rallies to get the group back where they belong to keep Riley from spiraling into a full-blown anxiety attack.

Everything that made the original so beloved is still intact in the sequel (aside from a few voice cast changes). The beautiful and imaginative world that our emotions inhabit inside of us remains a treat to visit, and the interplay between them and the various other inhabitants is consistently amusing and believable. It’s legitimately hard not to watch their interactions and think, “Yeah, I could see that going on in there.”

Nostalgia (June Squibb) makes only a few brief appearances, but will likely wash over many adult moviegoers throughout, as the inner turmoil that is played out via a perilous adventure through Riley’s mind will call up memories of their own adolescences. In many ways this movie feels like it is targeted more towards them, or at least towards older kids, as there isn’t as much as usual here to keep the youngest viewers entertained outside of the bright colors and cute character designs. That being said, this showcases Pixar back at the top of their game, telling a sweet and uplifting story in a truly creative way, steering their audience through many of the emotions represented on screen and perhaps even inspiring a little self-reflection among them. ★★★★★