The Wasteland Reviewer

Inside Out 2 (2024) Written Review

How excited were you for Inside Out 2 to finally arrive? The first film is widely considered one of the best films Pixar has made to date and one of their most recent classics as well. The studio has gone through some rough times since Inside Out with some sequels not landing the same Pixar magic and COVID creating an unfortunate pattern of Disney+ releases. Pixar controversially announced recently that they will not do personal stories any more like Soul and Turning Red (both of which are great films in their own right) and focus more on “universal” appeal and sequels to beloved properties. Yeah…that is not suspect at all. But Inside Out 2, being the first film to arrive post that announcement is interesting as it was a sequel that people wanted. 

Does Inside Out 2 deliver an interesting progression of the story of Riley and her emotions? Inside Out works on two levels as you have the actual human story that Riley is going through as well as the internal struggle of her emotions. Director Kelsey Mann along with Meg LaFauve and Dave Holstein take Riley to hockey camp. There are some strong hockey scenes in the film including the opening sequence. You might even say Inside Out 2 is a bit of a sports movie which adds some layers to the enjoyment. Riley’s struggle in this film is being torn between her lifelong friends who are going to a new school and the cool hockey players who she wants to join in high school. There is some standard coming-of-age affair here, but Mann does a fine job making the story engaging and even exciting at times on the ice. 

How about the internal struggle? This is a story about puberty and the presence of more complex and intense emotions. Joy (Amy Poehler) struggles to keep Riley together as well as keeping the identity that has been carefully curated over the years. But a new set of emotions, including Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos) come in and take control and banish Riley’s original five emotions. This leans to a MacGuffin focused adventure for Joy and the rest of the emotions. There are strong themes about identity, growth, and emotional intelligence even if the screenplay beats you over the head with over-explaining. One of the highlights is that Fear (now Tony Hale), Disgust (newly Liza Lapira), and Anger (the ever-fun Lewis Black) get to have times to really shine on this adventure too. They were mostly sidelined in the original film, but they get their time to stand out in Inside Out 2. Each of the new emotions get their moments as well but Hawke and Edebiri are real highlights with Anxiety taking on a central and at times antagonistic role. 

What are other elements that stand out in this new sequel? The animation is gorgeous (as you would expect from Pixar). There are some fun mixes of animation styles with the inclusion of different characters that keep the visual experience more interesting and dynamic. There are some fun gags included this time around that navigate the media that young people consume which are some of the funniest scenes in the movie. The journey that Joy and the gang go on takes them through some places that Joy and Sadness visited in the previous film, but we get to see how puberty and growing up have morphed those elements of the brain. Inside Out is inherently creative and bold because of the endless possibilities that imagination can create. There are impactful new dynamics with Sadness (who gets her own solo mission this time around giving Phyllis Smith plenty of time to shine) and Embarrassment building a sweet and endearing connection. There are plenty more pop culture references this time around and they are fun nuggets to enjoy like the surprising Chinatown reference in the previous film. 

In the end, is Inside Out 2 a sequel worth the wait? The first film is a masterpiece and a beloved film that impacted audiences on a deeply emotional level. Inside Out 2 has its own moments that might get you shedding a tear, but it just does not reach the same level as the first film. That is perfectly fine too. This is a strong film that has plenty of great elements. The film does some solid story work in capturing Riley’s changing existence as well as some strong and relatable themes. The animation is great as always with this lively and imaginative world. The cast is impressive and there are tons of great gags and laughs along the way. This is certainly a big win for Pixar after some years of struggling.