Inside Out 2

Voices of: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Phyllis Smith, Kensington Tallman, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paul Walter Hauser, Yvette Nicole Brown, June Squibb, Paula Poundstone, Bobby Moynihan, Frank Oz, John Ratzenberger
Directed by: Kelsey Mann
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: When Riley (Kensington Tallman) goes to hockey camp with her friends, she begins to experience a range of new emotions that accompany her ascension into puberty.

Review:

Tim: When I watched the first Inside Out in 2015, I ended that review saying that someday I'd show my son. We haven't watched that together, but I did watch this film with my now 9 year-old son and my 6 year-old daughter (whom didn't yet exist when the first film came out). That's a long time between films and a lot of life! With some passing of time, I still feel the same about the original film as I did then- an extremely good film, but not quite great. Still, a definite feather in Pixar's hat. The same can be said about this sequel- it's every bit as good as the original, full of emotion (not just the characters) and a film Pixar can be proud of (although still not great).

This is a movie that created some unexpected emotions in me as I watched. We see Riley, now a teenager, venturing out into the world a bit. She goes to a multi-day hockey camp and experiences a ton of new emotions. The primary new one is Anxiety, although there's also Disgust, Embarrassment, maybe one other? They honestly aren't that memorable except for Anxiety. So, we watch an entire film where the primary character is primarily driven by anxiety. That's... uncomfortable to watch. We do experience many of these emotions ourselves- and it's not great fun to watch a film and mostly feel anxiety and embarrassment for the main character. So, Inside Out 2 creates this odd experience- it's not exactly fun to watch, it's mostly stressful. However, putting you into this experience hearkens you back to your early teenage years. It's an uncomfortable time of life. While viewing this film was less fun than I expected, it's pretty brilliant for a movie to be able to so accurately capture the experience of early teens and translate that on screen, so that millions of viewers can experience those same emotions through empathy with the character. That's a stunning achievement for Pixar and it definitely differentiates this film. It makes it extremely memorable, although it's less enjoyable than you'd hope.

The story itself is compelling- you really do feel for Riley, as she tries to navigate a bigger, riskier, scarier world, all while her emotions are basically running amok. This isn't a film that will bore you- it's an adventure, but there's so much drama, a good deal of comedy. Director Kelsey Mann packs a lot into the film (she also co-wrote it). It's a heartfelt story with a powerful message that's really good for kids to see. That's one aspect of the film I loved- it opened up a lot of conversations with my kids about the emotions they feel. In a small way, this movie increases the emotional literacy of kids, so it's doing a ton of good in the world. It's also entertaining to see the advancing story of Riley.

I did have issues with the movie. For most of the film, the message seems to be that Riley's emotions are controlling her actions. This is a dumb and potentially dangerous message. They do try and explain it towards the end, but there's a subtle message here that emotions control us. That's the absolute wrong message for kids to take away. We control our emotions- we can feel them (sometimes very strongly), but they aren't pulling our strings. We are in control of our own actions and that message is lost for most of this film. I absolutely loathed that aspect of the film and the explanation towards the end doesn't do enough to reverse this. I don't think the film is quite saying this, but that's the takeaway for most of the film. That did bother me a lot- Pixar should have been more thoughtful in how they presented this story to make money.

I do think that the characters were a bit forgettable. It's been a long time since I watched the original, but I didn't quite remember the emotions. I didn't even recognize that Fear was voiced by Tony Hale this time, instead of Bill Hader. Anxiety is a memorable new character, voiced well by Maya Hawke. Envy (I looked it up) and Disgust are nearly nonexistent characters here. Embarrassment plays a bigger role, although is silent for most of the film. Joy is the lead character again, and Amy Poehler is solid in her role. Phyllis Smith is good as Sadness and Lewis Black remains inspired as a casting choice for Anger. It was fun hearing June Squibb pop up a bit as Nostalgia. The rest of the cast is solid, but a bit unremarkable. I did think Tallman worked well as Riley.

The visuals are all top-notch. As you would expect, this is a beautiful film from Pixar. The colors, the animations, they all work extremely well. We've come to expect that, though, so while a plus, it doesn't quite move the needle as much as one would hope. It's funny, for this film to look as good as it does and it to feel like a minor plus.

I do need to acknowledge that while flawed, Inside Out 2 is a huge success for Pixar. As of this writing, the movie is the #1 box office leader for 2024- it made a stunning $652 million at the domestic box office. The first one made $356 million. That's an astonishing improvement and Pixar deservedly should be celebrating all the way to the bank. It's not just about money, though. I've been disappointed with Pixar in recent years- Luca and Elemental were good, but Turning Red and Lightyear weren't good movies at all. This is Pixar's best film since the minor-great hit, Soul in 2020. So, for Pixar to deliver their best film in 4 years and to make obscene amounts of money at the box office (this is currently the 11th highest grossing film of all time), you have to call this movie a tremendous success. Sure, I wish the film was great, but this very-good movie offers a lot to celebrate. And, on top of being entertaining, it did create some powerful conversations with my kids about emotions. Lots of wins to go around here.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Inside Out, Wall-E, Toy Story, Up, Soul