Inside Out 2 Movie Review
Nathan Swank
June 14th, 2024
In 2015, Pixar released INSIDE OUT. My first born daughter was one-year old. Touching on so many emotions, literally and figuratively, the film hit me hard and I thought it was one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. INSIDE OUT remains one of my few perfect review scores. This time, I was fortunate enough to bring my now 10-year-old daughter along with my 7-year-old son and, of course, my lovely wife to the advance screening of INSIDE OUT 2…and it was glorious.
Riley is now a teenager at 13-years old. She still has her same emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Tony Hale replacing Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Liza Lapira replacing Mindy Kaling), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). However, growing up means change, and there’s a new console being installed, which means a few new emotions will be moving into Riley’s control center. Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos), which is French for Boredom add a bit of a snag for our familiar team as Anxiety takes the wheel and Joy needs to find a new way to gain some control of the wider range of emotions.
INSIDE OUT 2 taps into character and feelings that nearly anyone can relate to. I was able to identify as a father, husband, friend, and child. Each emotion is prevalent in everyone and the film understands how to make teachable recognition into joyful entertainment. Somehow touching on so many emotions, while giving credence to sometimes unwanted feelings, but still understanding it’s okay to accept and change as we work to be better in all aspects of our life, putting kindness to the forefront. We all make bad decisions, but from those moments, we can grow and learn.
At a brisk 96 minutes, INSIDE OUT 2 is without a dull moment. And earns extra credit by actually being a film with a very manageable runtime and understanding its audience better than nearly any film in the last five years. I’ll keep quiet on other jokes, characters, and story points, but understand the film is clever, positive, and both kid and parent friendly.
While INSIDE OUT 2 may not be able to reach the rare perfection level as its predecessor, it is an incredibly creative, funny, and heartwarming follow up. INSIDE OUT 2 has the amazing ability to bring many of the same emotions that are in Riley’s life to the forefront of one’s own life. I felt joy, sadness, anxiety, and even envy that I didn’t make the film.
Ironically, my 10-year old daughter, while enjoying much of it, had a tough time, because of Riley’s new anxiety and poor choices. I watched her smile, giggle, cringe, and hide her face. Ultimately, she didn’t like the anxiety that the Anxiety character gave her. In the other hand, My 7-year-old son loved all the silly action from each character, cracking up throughout the whole film. Me? I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with all the emotions that come with having a family.
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