Inside Out 2 Review: Pixar's Sequel Isn't As Good As The Original, But It Will Still Make You Emotional
Inside out 2
It's no picnic dealing with anxiety, and "Inside Out 2" might be the first animated Disney film to adequately (and realistically) depict the frequently debilitating extremes of the emotion. The original "Inside Out" is one of the very best Disney/Pixar flicks, a funny, clever, tear-jerking story about the emotions running rampant through the tumultuous mind of a young girl named Riley. That film's ultimate summation seemed to be that "it's okay to be sad sometimes," an important message young people need to hear (I sure wish I had heard it when I was growing up). Now here comes "Inside Out 2," which boasts the telling tagline "Make room for new emotions." Riley just turned 13, and her entrance into her teenage years have brought on a new wave of emotional characters, none of them very positive.
In the world of "Inside Out," the inner workings of Riley's mind are controlled by colorful little characters operating a giant button-laden console located in a control room. Riley (and everyone else) seems to have the same core emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Notably, Joy is the only positive emotion among this group, and yet "Inside Out" showed us how they all worked together in harmony to create Riley's personality. Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, is the leader, the one steering Riley, but "Inside Out 2" shows us she's learned from the events of the first film to let Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale, stepping in for Bill Hader), and Disgust (Liza Lapira, stepping in for Mindy Kaling) take over when need be. But everything is about to change.
Because Riley is about to hit puberty.
Dealing With Anxiety (In Inside Out 2)
Inside Out 2
When an alarm signifying Riley's puberty starts going off, the control room is suddenly thrown into chaos. First, a construction crew arrives unannounced and begins smashing things up. Then, a whole new slew of emotions set up shop. There's the very bored, and very French, Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), the bashful Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), the clingy Envy (Ayo Edebiri), and the leader of this new group, the extremely nervous but eager-to-please Anxiety (Maya Hawke). Joy assumes they'll all have to work together, but Anxiety has other plans.
Hawke has perhaps the trickiest role in the entire film, as a lesser script (and performance) could've easily turned Anxiety into a villain — indeed, some of the things the character does are borderline villainous. But the writing (by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein) and Hawke's gentle-but-firm voice work make us understand where Anxiety is coming from, even if we don't condone all of her actions.
As for Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman), these new emotions are tearing her apart. The teen has gone away to hockey camp with her two best friends Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and Grace (Grace Lu). But when Riley befriends cool high school hockey captain Val (Lilimar), Anxiety sees this as an opportunity to push Riley's old friends aside and make room for Val and Val's high school buddies. All of this plays hell with Riley's sense of self, and it's up to Joy and the original team to try to find a way to set things right before Riley has a complete emotional breakdown.
Despite Some Flaws, Inside Out 2 Is Something Special
Inside Out 2
Like the first "Inside Out," "Inside Out 2" is a visual feast, full of clever little asides that make you chuckle — at one point, a sar-chasm opens up inside Riley's mind, leading to sarcastic remarks, and a scene where the inner workers of Riley's thoughts are sketching out a plethora of terrible scenarios that could potentially happen to her is a smart way to showcase how anxious thoughts can keep you up at night.
The animation is stellar, the voice work is exemplary, and the narrative moves along at almost breakneck speed. Still, this is a sequel, and there's a "been there, done that" sense to the proceedings. The writers and director Kelsey Mann deserve credit for not simply recycling the events of the first movie with a fresh coat of paint, but some of the magic is gone. What seemed so unique and innovative about the first "Inside Out" feels somewhat routine in "Inside Out 2." The wonder just isn't quite as wonderful.
And yet, "Inside Out 2" knows exactly the right emotional buttons to push. I suppose if you wanted to be dismissive about the whole thing you could call the movie manipulative, and that's probably accurate. But gosh, I'd be lying if I said "Inside Out 2" didn't knock me for an emotional loop. I suffer from anxiety and depression, and have for most of my life, and to see these emotions depicted in such a unique, unflinching way in a movie aimed at children is frequently staggering.
At one point, Joy states, her voice quivering: "I don't know how to stop Anxiety," and just hearing that spoken aloud in an honest, straightforward way made my breath catch in my throat. I can't help but imagine that this would all have felt rather profound if I had seen a movie like this when I was younger and first becoming fully aware of my mental and emotional issues. So perhaps that makes "Inside Out 2" just a little extra powerful — the prospect of speaking to younger viewers who can't quite articulate why they feel they way they feel. And that's something special and worth celebrating. "Inside Out 2" may not reach the emotional highs of the first film, but don't be surprised when it reduces you into a sobbing mess at the end.
/Film Rating: 7 out of 10
"Inside Out 2" opens in theaters on June 14, 2024.
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