Pixar may be one of the greatest animated film studios of all time, but when it comes to sequels, they’ve often been hit or miss. Sure, films like Toy Story 2 or Finding Dory are solid sequel entries, but then you get the rest of the Cars trilogy and Monsters University, which I love but many do not. Enter Inside Out 2, the follow up film to the wildly popular original from 2015.
In this film, we follow the emotions of Riley, who’s just starting to hit puberty and the dreaded “teenage years”. Riley’s emotions, led by the ever-positive Joy, (Amy Poehler) run like a well-oiled machine. That is, until new emotions show up to try and commandeer the whole operation, helmed by Anxiety (Maya Hawke). The original emotions have to team up to stop anxiety and her peers Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrasment (Paul Walter Hauser) and Ennui (Adele Exarchopolous).
I have to acknowledge just how great the voice acting is in this film. I know many folks were upset to see Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling not return for the sequel, but really I didn’t even notice they were gone. Their replacements, Tony Hale and Liza Lapira, did a fine job. Everyone else was great as expected as well. I was especially impressed by Maya Hawke. She’s continued her rise to superstardom and delivers a phenomenally frantic performance as anxiety. This paired exceptionally well to the positivity that Joy brings to the table as the two de-facto lead emotions.
That’s one thing I really appreciate about both Inside Out films, each emotion is incredibly unique with their own personalities, but together they just work.
The plot of Inside Out 2 is incredibly entertaining, but I felt that it was largely a rehash of the first film. The overarching lessons the film gives comes straight from the original, and main plot points feel somewhat redone. That’s not to say it’s not done successfully, as there’s a lot of spirit in the plot. But I wish they had done something more unique.
I did enjoy how much extra time we got to spend with the original emotions too. They all have a good dynamic together that we didn’t get to see much of in the first film.
The new emotions, while incredibly interesting, felt underdeveloped, aside from anxiety. It seemed as though with something as complex as puberty there were so many different emotions and scenarios they could’ve explored. But rather, they stuck to mainly dealing with anxiety and especially social anxiety.
What I didn’t expect with Inside Out 2 was just how funny it was. There were some real laugh out loud moments, and it catered to both adults and kids. There was a serious charm to the film that worked better than the original.
Final Thoughts
Inside Out 2 will surely please a lot of people. From families with young kids to adults with fond memories of the first film. While it may not be as good as the first film, it still tells an engaging, heartwarming story that’s unexpectedly funny. The new emotions are great, and the voice acting is stellar too. This is certainly one of the best sequels Pixar has made yet.
3.5/5
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I have been watching movies my whole life and fell in love at an early age. I was entranced by the ability for a film to whisk me away to a different universe, and that really started with the Star Wars Franchise. I’m by no means an expert and can roll with opinions that might be controversial, but my love for cinema will always remain. When I’m not watching movies, I work in Marketing Analytics with my degree from Western New England University.
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MY FAVORITE MOVIES:
- Good Will Hunting
- Star Wars: A New Hope (or the whole saga)
- Chef
- Tick, Tick, Boom
- The Perks of being a Wallflower