Disney / Buena Vista
Pixar, you heartstring tuggers, you… ugh, you’ve done it again.
It’s funny. My children have aged out of Disney/Pixar movies so they aren’t the must see they used to be in my life. However, they rarely disappoint and usually clear the very high bar they’ve already set for themselves. Inside Out 2 is no different.
Joy and the gang of emotions once again are tripping over themselves to protect their beloved hockey playing girl, Riley.
Early in the film, Riley begins to hit puberty and a whole new cast of emotions show up, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment take over Riley’s emotional command center and a new adventure of redefining Riley’s sense of self.
Meg LeFauve who scripted the first Inside Out once again brilliantly dives into the emotional complexity of childhood and adolescence.
Who is Riley?
Who does she want to be?
How does she feel about herself?
How, at age 13, can she manage conflicting and competing thoughts about herself while maintaining some semblance of an identity and wrestling with her sense of enoughness.
As an adult, this story line hits home all over the place.
Literally everyone I know is on this continuous journey of self discovery, self deception, self actualization, and everything in between. Inside Out 2 has something for everyone. Riley’s narrative is accessible and easy to follow. The occasional looks at her parents’ emotional command centers provide a humorous sidebar from time to time and as a parent, they are SO accurate.
Riley’s emotional journey takes her to some very tough places and separates her from her friend group for a time. The loneliness of a child in distress can be overwhelming to watch at times. Kelsey Mann’s direction helps us feel it without beating us over the head with it.
As usual the cast is wonderful. Amy Poehler’s Joy has her own emotional journey as she comes to grips with what a pubescent Riley means for her. Maya Hawke’s Anxiety debuts powerfully and with purpose. Ayo Edebiri’s Envy gives us some great comic relief. Phyllis Smith’s Sadness never disappoints and Tony Hale and Lewis Black reprise Fear and Rage with everything we expect. Adele Exarchopoulos as Ennui is excellent and that’s a character that needed more screen time.
That may be my only criticism.
Extras include featurettes and deleted scenes.
The original emotions were fantastic and remain fantastic, but the new emotions were also great. However, they do begin to clutter things up through sheer numbers. Regardless, that’s not a reason to skip the film. It’s an incredibly hard calculus, but basically broke down to 2 teams. The original emotions, led by Joy and the new emotions, led by Anxiety.
The result is a beautiful, complex and enjoyable film that has something for everyone.
5 out of 5 stars
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