Inside Out 2 taps into complicated emotions

Theatrical movie review - Animated/Family

Key art. Courtesy of Disney.

In 2015, Pixar, the studio that makes us feel all of our feelings, made a whole movie about feelings that made us think about our feelings in a new way with the hit movie, “Inside Out.” Now, almost 20 years later, we are invited back inside Riley’s mind to take a peek as she grows into a teenager in Kelsey Mann’s “Inside Out 2.” 

Riley (Kensington Tallman) has turned 13. She is a good kid who loves playing hockey and hanging out with her friends Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Muriddin-Green). But when they go to hockey camp with the ultra-cool Valentina (Lilimar), new emotions like Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) make things more complicated for the original emotions. Joy (Amy Poehler), along with Disgust (Liza Lapira), Fear (Tony Hale), Anger (Louis Black), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith), must find a way to help Riley build her true self.

New emotions take the board. Courtesy of Disney.

There is a lot to love about this movie. Hawke gives a stellar performance as Anxiety, and that character is going to resonate with a lot of the audience who were children a decade ago when the original came out. The animation, combined with the voice acting, is profoundly affecting. The depiction of a panic attack is one of the best representations I’ve seen on screen. 

The overall art style is still absolutely stunning. This story is geared toward older kids and their parents, but there were a number of young children at the screening I attended, and they were all transfixed. The colors are vibrant, the humor is still primarily for younger audiences, and that will serve parents well if they take their children.

The original emotions meet Anxiety. Courtesy of Disney.

Unfortunately, the story is less complex than expected for a movie about more complicated emotions. The run time is almost identical to the original, and while there are no issues with pacing, it could have stood a little more time to flesh out some more complex emotions. Envy is barely used at all, and that felt like a crime, given the talent Edebiri brings to the table. 

Because the original was so thorough in its examination of the psyche, there was little left for this film to explore while still remaining simple enough for kids to follow and clever enough for adults to enjoy. And while it was refreshing not to simply have this be a retread of the first movie, it did feel a bit empty at times because of that.

Joy and Anxiety. Courtesy of Disney.

Please don’t think this is a negative review. This is a beautiful, touching, thoughtful movie. The look at adolescence might be a bit simplistic, but it is not without introspection and care for both the protagonist and for us as an audience. The journey that we all take in “Inside Out 2” is different from the one we embarked on a decade ago, but it is one worth taking.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on June 16, 2024.