Inside Out 2 Review: This Pixar Sequel Takes You Back Inside Riley’s Head With More Drama And Emotions!

Riley's imaginary best friend/ elephant stole the show in Inside Out 2!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

It’s usually difficult for directors to make the audience fall in love with sequels because of the audience’s attachment to the first film. But director Kelsey Mann has done a great job at making you fall in love with the characters even more (the 3 kids seated beside me laughing the whole time is evidence).  Part 2 of the classic Pixar animated film Inside Out, sparks laughter and emotions from the audience. The film feels like a trip to your childhood bedroom years later. Get ready for another adventurous trip to the headquarters because Riley Anderson is back and this time with puberty and new emotions!

The Plot

Even though we had to wait for 9 years to get a sequel, the second part of the film is shown just 1 year later in the lives of the characters. Riley is the same old sweet girl excelling in her academics and hockey. She is now a teenager but is still seen doing the monkey voice bit with her parents which depicts her innocence. The emotions- Joy, Anger, Sadness, Disgust, and Fear have all learned to work together since the last fiasco and have now developed a new system “Sense Of Self” for storing emotions and memories that make up her personality, basically making who Riley is- a good person. But will it stay that way or will puberty take over?

Riley’s Life Now

Riley is now prepping to bag a hockey team for her designated high school, The Fire Hawks, next year for which she goes to the summer camp. To make an impression, the emotions throw out sensitive or embarrassing memories in the back of her mind. Everything seems good until one night, the horrific puberty alarm goes off and sets everything up for destruction when the workers come in making space for “others” now.

After the alarm sets off, the emotions discover that whenever they try to convey anything through Riley’s mind, it makes her overreact- basically what every teenager does. This only gets worse when Riley finds out that her best friends Bree and Grace are going to another high school, a secret finding courtesy to the ever-sassy Disgust. Now when she was young, Riley’s life was simple with only 5 emotions, but as she became a teenager, a set of new emotions took over her mind- Envy, Embarrassment (a favorite of every teenager), Ennui, and the evil leader of them all- ANXIETY!

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This film is as real as life gets. It gets tricky when the newest emotion anxiety takes over instead of Joy on how to behave in summer camp. While anxiety tells Riley to go for the cooler group, Joy reminds her of being loyal to her friends, a contemplation everyone faces. Feeling troubled by the older emotions, anxiety throws the 5 out of the headquarters completely taking over Riley’s mind and changing her sense of self.  The disasters and adventures that take place in the lives of the 5 emotions and Riley make up for the plot of the film.

The Story; Why Worked

While the first part was impactful yet fun, the second installment of the franchise reached a larger audience related because of it depicts the journey from a child to an adult pretty fairly. Even though it was based on the changing emotions of a teenager, the film brilliantly made some strong points to which even the adults related. The introduction of anxiety made me uncomfortable because I felt the same things when I hit puberty. In a scene where Joy and Anxiety fight about Riley’s control, Anxiety says, “Now Riley has grown up and she doesn’t need such simple emotions but a set of more complex emotions to get her through life. ” The scene made so much sense because as we grow up, we forget emotions as simple as joy, and fear but rather do everything according to envy and anxiety.

Riley’s growth as a person from when she was just a kid to becoming a teenager is also depicted beautifully. Whether it is the issues of self-doubt., navigating friendship, or changing equations with parents, the film depicted a striking balance between laughter and in-depth emotions. The story also depicts the sincere emotions of parents whose child is going through puberty. When Riley starts showing her “puberty symptoms,” the mother’s mind instantly goes “Ugh, I am not ready to deal with this till she turns 20”, while the dad’s mind is always playing sports matches in every situation.

The New Emotions

While I was not a fan of the newer additions when Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness got kicked out, they depicted everything so perfectly to the point where anxiety took over Riley’s mind making me re-think my whole puberty and the kind of person I had become. Joy vs Anxiety becomes the central conflict, mirroring the internal battles we all face between our aspirations and our self-doubt. It’s a struggle that resonates deeply, particularly for viewers navigating their own teenage years.

Emotions like Embarrassment and Boredom deserve a special shoutout because of the cuteness they procured and for adding the much-needed sass to the film! We stan new love angles between emotions as well (promise I won’t tell now!)

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The Story; What Didn’t Make Sense

While it is good to see newer emotions stern up, our beloved Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness did not get explored more. I wished to see a lot more of their perspectives on Riley’s well-being, a lot more sass from Disgust, and the constant brittle between Anger and Fear.

While good, the film’s humour felt rather familiar to the first instalment and not new except for when the characters meet Riley’s imaginary friends. While Inside Out 2 might have its heartfelt moments, it seems I expected more on the humour part.

Verdict: Inside Out 2 Is A Trip Down The Memory Lane

Inside Out 2 appears to be a film with a lot to offer. Its exploration of emotional nuance and Riley’s growth as a teenager holds promise. Inside Out 2 takes viewers on a nostalgic trip back into Riley’s head, but the emotional landscape feels familiar. Anxiety brings a fresh layer of teenage woes with jittery pronouncements like, “This math test is an impending doom spiral!” injecting a dose of nervous energy into the film. However, some of the original emotions, like Anger, get relegated to muttering, “Ugh, don’t even get me started on this locker situation!” leaving fans wanting more of their signature spark. Except for the few misses, ultimately, it seems poised to offer a relatable and thought-provoking exploration of the complexities of growing up.

 

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Inside Out 2 was released in theatres across India on June 14. Book your tickets and hit the big screen near you for a trip down memory lane.

First Published: June 16, 2024 5:10 PM