'Inside Out 2'-Emotional, Stunning, and Real

'Inside Out 2'. Copyright 2024, Disney/Pixar.

Good afternoon, everyone.

This morning, I saw Inside Out 2. From a scene that resembles Pandora from Avatar to a good blend of emotion, real-life perspective, and humor, it was a well-executed sequel courtesy of Pixar Animation Studios.

After the original Inside Out, Riley Andersen, now voiced by Kensington Tallman, is 13, at hockey camp, and on the cusp of puberty and an identity crisis. 

Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Disgust (voiced by Liza Lapira), Fear (voiced by Tony Hale), and Anger (voiced by Lewis Black) in Disney/Pixar's Inside Out 2. Courtesy of Disney.

Even though Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust are working well together now, more complex emotions such as Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, have run amok, and they all must find a way to solve Riley's identity crisis together.

Embarrassment (voiced by Paul Walter Hauser), Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke), Envy (voiced by Ayo Edebiri), and Ennui (voiced by Adèle Exarchopoulos) in Disney/Pixar's Inside Out 2. Courtesy of Disney.

At first, I was skeptical of Inside Out 2, given that I want fewer sequels and more original stuff from Pixar. But they proved me wrong in many cases. For example, Tony Hale and Liza Lapira made great close seconds to Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling as the voices of Fear and Disgust. Hale, in particular, was great bringing back his crazy energy from voicing Forky in Toy Story 4. 

Next, new emotions Anxiety and Envy, voiced by Hawke and Ayo Edebiri from Mutant Mayhem, were funny in making Riley cool and awkward in trying to fit in with her hockey camp teammates. Anxiety started being funny when she tried to understand Riley's social skills, then came off as an antagonist in challenging Joy and rebranding Riley altogether.

Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) and Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke) in Inside Out 2. Courtesy of Disney.

However, it wasn't all bad, because I empathized with being anxious about my future and present just as Riley did. In addition, it was impressive when Joy learned to be vulnerable telling her frustration of trying to control everything with Riley. Once she did that, the other emotions learned to be a team. In a way, Anxiety and Joy could be foils to each other. 

Back to the team talk, I was glad to see Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, be more than just a hothead when guiding the team back to the core of Riley's mind. And Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith from the American version of The Office, held her own again in trying to rebuild Riley.

There were also other funny suppressed emotions, cool hockey action, and astounding animation reminiscent of classics such as Blue's Clues.

To conclude, Inside Out 2 was worth watching because it tells that life's not too scary with the right emotional work and support system. If you want a film that feels real instead of just for entertainment for you, go watch Inside Out 2.