Inside Out 2 (2024) Disney/Comedy-Adventure RT: 96 minutes Rated PG (some thematic elements) Director: Kelsey Mann Screenplay: Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein Music: Andrea Datzman Cinematography: Adam Habib and Jonathan Pytko Release date: June 14, 2024 (US) Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adele Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, Kensington Tallman, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Lilimar, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Grace Lu, Yvette Nicole Brown, Yong Yea, Ron Funches, James Austin Johnson, June Squibb, John Ratzenberger.
Rating: ***
My greatest concern about Pixar’s new movie Inside Out 2 was that it would be just another cash-grab sequel in the vein of Monsters University and Finding Dory. That’s in addition to Pixar’s last few movies (except Turning Red) being less than impressive. I’d like to report my fears were allayed by a return to greatness for the Disney-owned computer-animation studio. I’m happy/relieved to report it is….. almost.
Like almost any sequel you can name, Inside Out 2 doesn’t quite measure up to its predecessor. It is, however, better than a lot of sequels I can name. It isn’t one of those soulless CA family movies made for no other purpose than profit. It’s funny, smart, lively and imaginative. It’s even somewhat insightful in regard to the crazy, confused mind of its 13YO protagonist Riley (now voiced by Kensington Tallman of Nickelodeon’s mockumentary series Drama Club). It explains puberty and all the accompanying emotional chaos in a way kids will understand while still being entertained. At the same time, it shows it in a way that’ll have parents chuckling as they recall their own tumultuous early teen years.
Life is running pretty smoothly for Riley. She gets along with her adoring, supportive parents (Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan). She plays hockey with her two besties, Bree (Green) and Grace (Lu). It doesn’t even bother her too much that she has braces. Inside her mind, it’s business as usual for her emotions- Joy (Poehler, SNL), Sadness (Smith, The Office), Anger (Black, Unaccompanied Minors), Fear (Hale, Arrested Development) and Disgust (Lapira, The Equalizer). Joy runs a tight ship, even inventing a mechanism to launch negative memories to the back of Riley’s mind.
Everything changes in an instant when the Puberty alarm goes off one night. A whole bunch of new emotions, led by Anxiety (Hawke, Stranger Things), appear and shake things up. The new arrivals also include Envy (Edebiri, The Bear), Ennui (Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color) and Embarrassment (Hauser, I, Tonya). Anxiety immediately gets rid of Riley’s old “Sense of Self” and begins to construct a new one made up of negative thoughts that shake Riley’s self-confidence. When Joy objects, she and the other old emotions are literally bottled up and exiled to a vault deep in the recesses of the mind.
Puberty couldn’t have come at a worse time. Riley and her friends have just been invited to hockey camp. On the way there, she learns that Bree and Grace will be attending a different high school the following school year. Anxiety, seeing a way to take control, steers Riley away from her friends to an older girl and star hockey player Valentina (Hernandez, Bella and the Bulldogs). It’s one of many bad decisions Riley will make over the next few days.
Meanwhile, Joy and her companions manage to escape captivity thanks to a little help from Bloofy (comedian Funches) and his magic pouch Pouchy (Johnson, SNL), characters from her favorite childhood show, a Blue’s Clues type deal. Their mission is to retrieve Riley’s discarded Sense of Self and get it back to mission control before Anxiety completely wrecks Riley’s life.
To its credit, Inside Out 2 is the best Pixar movie to hit theaters these past few years. It doesn’t break any new ground in terms of content, humor or computer-animation. Director Kelsey Mann, making her feature film debut, is content to follow the path set by the 2015 original. The major difference, of course, is the new group of emotions. They’re an interesting bunch. Anxiety is more or less a well-meaning train wreck who thinks she’s preparing Riley for life when she’s really making her a nervous wreck full of self-doubt. Worse, she’s driving a wedge between Riley and her bffs. Envy is the needy one. Ennui couldn’t care less. Embarrassment is just that, always embarrassed. These are the exact emotions that get amplified with the onset of puberty at the expense of other emotions.
It’s been nearly 30 years since Toy Story came along and redefined animation. It has largely taken the place of traditional hand-drawn animation. What used to be special is now old hat. Everybody’s doing it. To their credit, Pixar is still the best. When they put their minds to it, they create art. They have done so again with Inside Out 2. It looks amazing. This is what happens when animators open their minds and let their imaginations flow. The interior design of Riley’s mind is still pretty awesome. Outside of it is cool too. There’s a beautiful sequence near the end when Riley rediscovers the fun to be had by just playing her sport of choice. The way she glides with ease along the ice will bring a smile to your face.
The voice talents do a good job. I miss Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader as Disgust and Fear, but their replacements do a fine job. Hawke is also quite good as Anxiety. Black uses his angry, explosive persona to great effect as Anger. Tallman completely embodies all the mixed-up emotions of a 13YO girl in her voice. Really, everybody is good, no complaints here.
I liked Inside Out 2 very much, but I didn’t love it like I did the OG. Still, it’s a good movie. It’s a lot better than Garfield. Now that school is out for the summer, it’s the perfect way to kick off the season with the kids. They’ll love it and you’ll be entertained too. PLUS, there are lessons on navigating puberty and being true to oneself that’ll resonate with the preteens. Judging by the crowds and sold out shows today, I think Disney may finally have the hit they’ve been needing for a while.
