Inside Out 2

Set almost a decade later, Inside Out 2 revisits Riley and her emotions, Joy, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, as she enters a new chapter of her life: puberty.

With a lot to say and a lot of big emotions, it fails to capture the essence of the first. Inside Out 2, directed by Kelsey Mann, is a solid effort and does a lot in its 90-minute runtime; however, with too many concepts and ideas thrown at the wall, not enough of them stick to make the same impact as the first.

Inside Out (2015), helmed by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen, was lauded for its honest depiction of the childhood journey. The film, a triumph for Walt Disney Studios and Pixar, was gauged by its box office success and the emotional resonance it created. Whilst proving itself financially successful, the movie also became a tool for experts to delve into the realm of children’s mental health, allowing an accessible place for children to find comfort in therapy and discussing mental health.

Inside Out 2, Mann’s feature debut, ininitially raised suspicions and apprehensions about the purpose of its development. Was the film meant to serve an older audience to reach a similar emotional pathos of Toy Story 3 (2010), or, as in the instance of Monsters University (2013) and Finding Dory (2016), was it, as far as Disney is concerned, another sequel as an opportunity to cash in on the nostalgic intellectual property.

As Riley hits puberty, her emotions — Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear, and Disgust — have to share headspace with Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser). These new four feelings develop a disjoint to the original group, despite alluding to partnerships between Fear and Envy or Sadness and Embarrassment, which becomes the leading story as Joy, Sadness, Fear and Disgust are suppressed and locked away.

Considering how the original alluded to the theme of emotions merging and sharing space, it was disappointing that the film’s first twenty minutes undid all the groundwork established. However, during this time, there was still a fixation on the differences between the characters who have had their voices recast for the sequel.

Riley, now voiced by Kensington Tallman, who replaces Kaitlyn Dias, was the least noticeable change, whereas the absence of Bill Hader, the original voice for Fear, and the voice of Mindy Kaling, the original voice of Disgust, now voiced by Tony Hale and Liza Lapira respectively were jarringly apparent. Then, with the introduction of Yvette Nicole Brown as Coach Roberts, the first act was less about establishing our characters and became a game of figuring out the voice actor.

Hawke, however, is brilliant as Anxiety, with her breathing nervousness carrying through to her delivery. Though the film’s resolution will be apparent for any audience member post-puberty, its commentary on identity and self is profound. Anxiety plays a significant part in teaching younger audiences to be themselves and understand those around them.

But, comparisons are likely to be drawn between the final third of Inside Out (2015) and Inside Out 2, wherein the original, Riley, succumbed to depression, abandoning her family and attempting to run away. The absence of colour in Riley’s outfit and claustrophobic framing harmonise to illustrate her apathy towards the world.

Inside Out 2, meanwhile, visually represents the overwhelming consumption of how a panic attack can fester and dominate, even if, in doing so, it leans into the majority of storytelling stereotypes to accomplish it. The hastened breath against a muted soundscape, the frantic pounding of the heart, quick cuts from Riley to the emotions and back again. Everything about it is how it accomplishes the same heartstring-tugging attempt that lacks the creativity of the first.

Bizarrely, it’s within the first act that Inside Out 2 hits on its strongest characters and themes. After being bottled up and locked away in a secure vault, the film introduces a roster of suppressed characters from Riley’s life that texturally feels borrowed from the minds of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, with the ensemble slotting easily into the Spider-verse.

Asking audiences to embrace their childhood during a time of change and development not only gained the best reception during the film but worked as a way of tying into the themes later in their identity. It’s a shame that the filmmaker’s understanding of this was mismanaged, passing it off solely for jokes rather than tying into the themes or, on a fundamental storytelling level, ignoring the established character hinted as being of Chekhovian importance.

Thankfully, Inside Out 2 is not entirely a cash-grab opportunity from the studios. It has, at times, intellectual and profound moments on how our minds guide us in working toward our core identity. But it misses all the magical charm that made the first so universally adored.

Inside Out 2 is showing in UK cinemas from 14 June 2024.