Inside Out 2, a coming-of-age film for children directed by Kelsey Mann under Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, was released on July 14, 2024. According to IMDB, Inside Out 2 is “a sequel that features Riley entering puberty and experiencing brand new, more complex emotions as a result. As Riley tries to adapt to her teenage years, her old emotions try to adapt to the possibility of being replaced.”
Inside Out 2 generated $1.697 billion in the Box Office and received a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 4 out of 5 on Common Sense Media, and a 73% on Metacritic. After watching the film, I believe that it was appropriately ranked. For my review, I will be basing it on 4 factors: storyline, characters, themes, and ending.
Storyline: 4.5/5
The movie opens with Riley Andersen’s emotions preparing for her hockey tournament, setting the stage for the story. This already sets the picture for the film as the film revolves around Riley’s emotions throughout hockey. We also get reintroduced to Riley’s emotions Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust but introduced to a new factor of Riley’s mind: her sense of self-tree which is a pivotal item throughout the movie.
Then, the movie’s catalyst occurs when a high school recruiter notices Riley and her friends after winning the game. They are invited to participate in a 3-day camp and excitedly they all accepted. This revolves around the theme of Riley growing up. Riley is forced to adapt to new scenarios like being away from her parents and navigating her priorities.
Riley’s journey through adolescence explores friendships and identity to the intense emotions that come with growing up. The plot introduces new emotions: Anxiety, Envy, embarrassment, and Ennui. Which complicates the existing dynamics within Riley’s mind. Joy and the other emotions are kicked out of headquarters, and the movie follows the emotions trying to find their way back to headquarters before Anxiety takes over Riley’s mind.
The sense of self tree is constantly brought up. It is powered through Riley’s memories and as Anxiety begins to take control, Riley’s morals switch from being a good friend to trying to fit in and be “cool.”
Overall, the movie’s storyline provides a balance between lighthearted and emotional scenes, which highlights a teenager’s life. This movie is much more mature than the first movie in the franchise.
Characters: 4/5
The 5 main characters–Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust–all return from the 1st movie again. At the beginning of the movie, Joy introduces them to the audience. In the first movie, the problem was that Joy was too controlling and the solution was that all emotions are valid, even the more emotional ones like sadness. This solution is still upheld as Joy gives time to each emotion to shine in Riley’s big tournament. The directors when writing the script made sure to not just toss all the character development from the first movie into the trash.
I want to dive into the character Joy. When she hits a dead-end, she actually snaps and shows how not even she, the literal embodiment of Joy cannot be happy all the time. This is symbolic of how even the happiest of people can’t be happy all the time and I think this subtle character trait is very meaningful.
Out of the 4 new emotions, Anxiety is definitely the most prominent. Anxiety is the movie’s “antagonist.” Initially, Anxiety tries to cooperate with the other emotions but as the movie progresses, Anxiety starts to take more power leaving the rest of the emotions in the shadows. To me, this is an incredibly accurate depiction of how anxiety in a person can start to feel like the only thing in the world.
One thing I would’ve liked to see with the characters is most use of the other new emotions. Emotions like Embarrassment and Ennui have very little time on screen to show what they can do. I understand how the focal point of the film is to show how Anxiety is an emotion teens feel very harshly as they go through puberty, but that doesn’t conceal the other emotions as I feel they go hand-in-hand.
Theme: 5/5
Inside Out 2 explores several themes, with the main one being that growing up involves messy, uncomfortable feelings yet also the beauty of self-discovery.
The film takes the viewer on an emotional ride through Riley’s teenage mind and portrays teenage experiences pretty realistically to the extent of a kid’s movie. It shows an honest look at how teenage years can be rough, yet encourages audiences to appreciate the importance of emotions like anxiety and envy as parts of personal growth.
Another theme the movie portrays is friendship. It shows how Riley is divided on whether to stick with her old friends or try and become friends with the “cooler girls.” This is an incredibly cliche trope conducted in multiple stories. However, I feel Inside Out 2 did a pretty good job at this because it showed the inner workings of a child’s mind when situations between friends occur. I felt this gave more dimension than the typical “person leaves old friends for cooler, older friends” storyline.
The way the movie depicts a teenager’s emotional journey as they navigate new experiences and challenges while going through puberty honestly spoke to me a lot. I also feel that the production team did an incredibly good job in making the movie humorous to younger audiences, yet mature and relatable to teens who were little kids when the first movie came out. This is why I give the themes of the movie a 5 out of 5. The message is clear: Embracing all parts of our emotions, even those we might see as negative is crucial for a balanced life.
Ending: 3.5/5
The movie’s ending is pretty good and wraps everything up. Anxiety eventually takes over Riley, but the other emotions come to realize that Riley should manage her own feelings. What I especially liked about the ending was that they didn’t get rid of anxiety or “defeat her.” Instead, they learned that anxiety is always going to be there, we just need to learn how to cope with it and help it not take over our life. This felt very real since a person’s anxiety doesn’t just “go away.” This resolution doesn’t show a perfect or easy outcome but rather an ongoing journey where Riley and the other emotions learn to respect each emotion’s role. I kind of wished that the ending felt more wrapped up with the ending of Riley starting high school. It just felt a tad bit rushed.
Conclusion
Overall, I would give Inside Out 2 a 17/20. The film successfully expands on the original movie’s concept of all feelings being valid and still manages to make it different and interesting for the grown-up audience and new audiences. Through thoughtful storytelling and character development, the sequel humorously explores the emotional journey from childhood to adolescence. This film is a definite must-watch for all ages.
