Pixar’s Inside Out 2 Review: Riley’s emotions run rampant in excellent sequel

Inside Out 2 is a confident return to form for Pixar and the best film of 2024 so far. A brilliant third act, stunning animation, and creative interpretations of emotions put the sequel on par with its masterful 2015 predecessor.

Inside Out 2 begins with Riley becoming a teenager. Joy, Anger, Disgust, Sadness, and Fear do their best to guide Riley’s decisions. However, new emotions begin controlling Riley’s actions as puberty sets in. These new emotions are Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment, and the rarely-seen Nastalgia.

In the real world, Riley lives in San Francisco, plays hockey, and hangs out with her best friends, Bree and Grace. Unfortunately, the prospect of going to a new school causes Riley to feel anxious. As a result of her anxiety, she tries to forge new friendships at hockey camp and distances herself from her old friends.

When it’s clear the new and old emotions aren’t compatible, Anxiety overcompensates and sends the old emotions to the back of Riley’s mind. Riley’s decisions lead her down a dark path. Can Joy and the other emotions save Riley before she loses her sense of self?

The voice cast is great, with Amy Poehler as Joy, Maya Hawke as Anxiety, and Ayo Edebiri as Envy standing out the most. There are a couple of replacements in the voicecast. Toby Hale takes over Fear from Bill Hader, and there’s no dropoff. However, Liza Lapira’s take on Disgust doesn’t quite reach Mindy Kaling’s level.

Inside Out 2 is as visually impressive as the first film. From hockey scenes to the inside of Riley’s mind, Pixar is at the top of its animation game. Inside Out 2 also finds creative ways to explore Riley’s inner sanctum, the highlight being a vault where Riley keeps most of her imaginary characters, like her deep, dark secret, locked up.

The 3rd act is tremendous. Throughout the two films, these emotions have controlled Riley’s actions. In the 3rd act, Inside Out 2 cleverly reverses the equation.

Other than Disgust, Inside Out 2 is a nearly flawless animated film that stands near the top of the animation studio’s best films.

After the overview and ranking Inside Out 2 9.5 out of 10 (Outstanding), let’s dive deeper into Riley’s emotional journey. Need a refresher? Inside Out (2015) is streaming on Disney Plus.

Anxiety runs rampant in Inside Out 2

Joy and Anxiety are two quarterbacks or coaches of their respective teams. Joy takes charge of the older emotions. Anxiety runs the new emotions.

Both want what’s best for Riley and are a little controlling. Anxiety doesn’t mean any harm, at first. However, Anxiety and Joy don’t see eye-to-eye on how to handle Riley’s situation.

Riley is heading to hockey camp with Bree and Grace. Her excitement is dampened when Bree and Grace reveal they will attend a different high school next year. She tries to hide her disappointment, but Riley is forced to make a tough decision when the trio arrives at the camp. Does she stay with her old friends or pursue new ones?

Joe wants Riley to use the camp as a final hurrah, while anxiety wants Riley to abandon her friends and pursue new ones. When Joy’s plan fails, Anxiety uses the opportunity to bottle up the old emotions and throw them into the back of Riley’s mind.

An emotional journey

Joy, Fear, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust are cast out and must find a way back into the control center. They end up in a vault where Riley has kept previous imaginations, such as a cartoon resembling Bluey, a video game fighter with a bad special move, and an ominous figure called a Deep Dark Secret. The most impressive aspect of the scene is that each of these creations features a different animation style.

Eventually, the gang finds a tube to transport one to the command center. Sadness is chosen. Once she arrives, she works to undermine Anxiety’s actions with help from Embarrassment. Sadness and Embarrassment have a sweet connection throughout the movie.

Meanwhile, Joy, Fear, Anger and Disgust traverse dangerous terrain like sarcasm to prevent Riley from using her sense of self.

Sense of Self

In addition to sending the old or redundant emotions to the back of Riley’s mind, Anxiety also sends Riley’s Sense of Self. The Sense of Self is depicted as a small white tree where certain actions dictate the type of person Riley is.

In the first film, Joy makes a mistake by not valuing the importance of Sadness in Riley’s development. Joy in Inside Out 2 is more open to Sadness but misses a couple of points, just like Anxiety. When Riley does something bad, like commit a penalty in hockey or fail a test, she discards the old memory so Riley won’t dwell on her pain. As Joy continues on her journey, she discovers that memories are essential. Therefore, Riley should control her emotions instead of vice versa.

It’s a powerful message reinforcing the overall series theme of accepting all feelings as important.

Inside Out 2 final thoughts

Overall, Inside Out 2 is a vibrant, smart sequel that builds on the framework of the first film. Its interpretation of Sense of Self and Anxiety is masterful and leads to a powerful conclusion. There isn’t an emotional gut punch like the erasure of Bing Bong in the first movie. However, the weight of the film’s finale is just as profound.

In short, Inside Out 2 is easily the best film of the year so far .