Inside Out 2 is a safe play for Pixar but continues building out the intricacies of Riley’s mind with an accurate conceptualization of anxiety.

Since the last time audiences saw Riley not much has changed, she still loves hockey and her friends. The emotions of Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear still occupy her mind and have worked together to turn her core memories into core beliefs while rejecting any undesirable memories that could flood her mind. Riley is one-dimensional as a young girl who stands by being a good person. Like the first film, Riley’s life is going pretty smooth until a massive disruption this time in the form of puberty occurs as she is about to head to a hockey camp that will either make or break her high school experience as a popular girl or a lonely loser.  New emotions Anxiety, Ennui, embarrassment, and Envy join the mixture of emotions causing some conflict about what is best for Riley. 

The text-for-subtext humor found in the predecessor is dialed up to max throughout the sequel with many visual gags that mask the cruelness of anxiety overtaking the mind. Instances like the emotions being bottled up and a brainstorm of lightbulbs are cute and kitschy. The sequel gives leeway for the animators to continue to build out the wonderful world of Riley’s mind full of an imaginary island where a parade of dream jobs happen and a vault of her deepest darkest secrets. There could be more films about world-building and the operations of Riley’s mind and the series would still be satisfying. The downside of this approach is that these jokes feel like filler that lead up to the main climax of the film causing an abrupt tone shift once Anxiety reaches full destruction.  Sadly there is still a Bing Bong-sized hole left in the series that seeks a huge emotional chord to fill. 

Anxiety’s entire arc is the main standout of the film in its portrayal of how the emotion dwells and manifests itself into a panic attack. Often we experience these intense feelings at young ages but have no idea why they might be triggered or how to deal with them. That doesn’t include suppressing our other emotions. There is so much accuracy in how anxiety operates such as Anxiety using Riley’s imagination against her to keep her up all night ahead of the big name and then make a terrible decision involving stealing the coaches handbook. All these attempts are to try to get Riley to forget her old and build a better version but Anxiety quickly learns all her work leading to Riley no longer believing in herself and letting Anxiety lead her life. 

Both movies have a confrontation between more negative emotions and Joy, first Sadness and now Anxiety. Joy represents a more naive outlook on life of childhood innocence and lack of social cues whereas Anxiety is a more mature emotion planning for every step of the future. An emotion that comes to us once we reach a more aware state of life full of failure and discomfort. Joy learns in the first one that everyone needs to experience Sadness and it’s okay, here is the opposite effect where it’s Joy that the body craves as it diminishes during aging.  Since Joy is the leading emotion and out of all the feelings seems to have the closest relationship with Riley, the moment Riley calls for Joy during her panic attack is very emotional, and where the film finds its footing. Anxiety is not a permanent state of being, it is an emotion we accept and work through and sometimes it’s hard to cope and find the right combination to keep it at bay. 

The constant theme of these movies is the emotions of discovering the multiplicity of humans with Riley developing a plethora of core beliefs outside of just being a good person. She is allowed to feel multiple things once and believes in multiple things as she grows older and learns more. Humans do not stop growing, they continue to change and develop throughout their lives. Riley and her emotions are certainly put to the test in dire situations just to learn the simpleness of life. 

Overall Inside Out 2 is a redemption arc for the studio and will definitely be shown in many health classes, but it never goes for a bold swing outside of its animation style instead feeling like a setup for something more epic to come.

Grade: B

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: Best Animated Feature
Should be Considered: None

Where to Watch: In Theaters