More complex emotions are introduced as Riley hits puberty in Inside Out 2. Inside the mind of Riley (Kensington Tallman), the emotions of Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale) and Disgust (Liza Lapira) have perfected their balance, with Joy using Riley's best memories to create her sense of self. However, as Riley is about to leave for hockey camp with her best friends Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green), things go haywire in her mind as puberty kicks in. This includes the introduction of the new emotions Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser). With Riley hoping to make a good impression on her coach and high school star player Valentina Ortiz (Lilimar), Anxiety ejects the old emotions and Riley's sense of self, to create an all-new person, ready for high school.
Inside Out 2 Synopsis
Inside Out 2 is the sequel to the Oscar-winning 2015 original with first-time director Kelsey Mann taking over from original filmmaker Pete Doctor. Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, and Lewis Black return as the emotions of Joy, Sadness, and Anger, while Tony Hale (Toy Story 4) and Liza Lapira take over the roles of Fear and Disgust from Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling respectively. They are joined by newcomers Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Ayo Edebiri (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem), Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai) as the new complex emotions of Anxiety, Envy, Ennui (Boredom), and Embarrassment.
Anxiety visualizes every scenario where things can go wrong for Riley at Hockey Camp and comes up with an elaborate plan for the weekend. However, these plans don't involve Riley's old emotions and Anxiety ends up ejecting them from headquarters, as she begins to build a new sense of self for the teenager. Joy and the other emotions try to reach the back of the mind to retrieve Riley's old sense of self before Anxiety completely takes over.
My Thoughts on Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 is a decade-long sequel, which is a suitable follow-up, even if it doesn't have the same charm as the original. The plot of the film is more or less a carbon copy of the original, except instead of only Joy and Sadness going on a quest through the mind, ALL of Riley's original emotions have to find themselves trying to restore her sense of sense before Anxiety takes over completely.
While it would be too much to call Anxiety the villain of Inside Out 2, she is very much the film's antagonist, forcing Joy and the other original emotions out of headquarters, as she takes over building Riley's new sense of self. Anxiety is a character that is so concerned with achieving the best outcome for Riley, that she doesn't stop to consider if it is the right outcome. Anxiety's actions result in Riley giving the cold shoulder to her best friends Grace and Bree, while she tries to make a good impression with star hockey player Valentina Ortiz. There's also a fun cameo by June Squibb, voicing the elderly emotion of Nostalgia.
As someone who suffers from bad anxiety well into adulthood, I am not sure how I feel about the way Inside Out 2 treats Anxiety as a character. The emotions may be complex, but being a kid's movie, Inside Out 2 simplifies them down to their most basic elements. This includes wasting someone like Paul Walter Hauser, who delivers mostly grunts and groans as the oversized shy emotion of Embarrassment. Some of the more enjoyable characters of Inside Out 2 are more cameos, such as the 2D animated dog Bloofy (Ron Funches) and his sidekick Pouchy (James Austin Johnson) and the emo anime videogame character Lance Slashblade (Yong Yea).
I'm not going to criticize Inside Out 2 as an example of Pixar focusing more on existing IPs than original ideas, since the studio seems to be alternating these sequels with films such as last year's Elemental. The original Inside Out itself was one of those original ideas when it came out in 2015. While Inside Out 2 doesn't reach the same highs, the film is still ultimately worth seeing.
