INSIDE OUT 2:
THE EMOTIONS ARE BACK FOR MORE “FEELS” IN SOLID PIXAR SEQUEL!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: **** out of 4
DISNEY/PIXAR
Disgust, Fear, Joy, Anger, Anxiety, Sadness, Ennui, and Embarrassment in Inside Out 2
The emotions of Riley Andersen are back in Inside Out 2, the latest feature from Pixar Animation Studios and follow-up to 2015’s Inside Out. Quick thoughts on the first movie, absolutely adored the first Inside Out as one of my all-time favorite Pixar films (Which is saying a lot given their filmography), films of 2015, and animated features in general with its vibrant and gorgeous animation, lovable characters, and its bold handling of mature subject matter and themes, most notably the importance of Sadness.
It was such a brilliant movie for both kids and adults and I eagerly awaited a sequel because if Andy’s toys can grow up with him throughout the Toy Story movies then Joy, Sadness, Anger, and the rest can grow up with Riley over the course of multiple movies. After average and subpar Pixar outings like Onward, Lightyear, and Elemental, we finally have a continuation of the Inside Out story and…yeah, this movie’s great and the best Pixar film since Soul!
I’m not sure yet if I love it quite as much as the first since I literally just came out of it, but I was delighted and moved throughout and thought the film did a stellar job evolving the characters and story along and exploring new ideas and themes not present in the first film. It’s what I’m looking for in great Pixar and Disney films as well as films in general.
The film follows Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman) who is now 13 years old and off to a hockey camp with her best friends. However, big changes start to happen to Riley as her emotions, Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler-Mean Girls, Blades of Glory, Parks and Recreation), Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith-The Office, Bad Teacher, The OA), Anger (voiced by Lewis Black-Accepted, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil), Fear (voiced by Tony Hale-Stranger Than Fiction, The Angry Birds Movie 1 and 2, Hocus Pocus 2; replacing Bill Hader), and Disgust (voiced by Liza Lapira-Fast & Furious, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Fabulous Filipino Brothers; replacing Mindy Kaling) discover new emotions that have appeared in Riley’s mind led by Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke-Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Asteroid City, Maestro) which causes a conflict between the old emotions and the new emotions.
With the old emotions being thrown out of Headquarters and Anxiety and the new emotions consisting of Envy (voiced by Ayo Edebiri-Big Mouth, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem), Ennui (voiced by Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is the Warmest Color, The White Crow, The Animal Kingdom), and Embarrassment (voiced by Paul Walter Hauser-I, Tonya, Richard Jewell, Cruella) start taking over Riley’s mind, Joy and her friends must race back to Headquarters and put Riley back to normal while also considering the fact that perhaps these new emotions reflect the effects of growing up and have just as much significance to Riley as they do.
The film also features the voices of Diane Lane (The Outsiders, Unfaithful, DC Extended Universe) reprising her role as Mrs. Andersen, Kyle MacLachlan-Dune, Twin Peaks, Justice League: The New Frontier) reprising his role as Mr. Andersen, Lilimar (Bella and the Bulldogs, Cleopatra in Space, Baymax!) as Val, Yvette Nicole Brown (Community, Avengers: Endgame, Disenchanted) as Coach Roberts, Ron Funches (Trolls trilogy, Lucky, The One and Only Ivan) as Bloofy, James Austin Johnson (Saturday Night Live, Hail, Caesar!, She Said) as Pouchy, and June Squibb (Alice, In & Out, Meet Joe Black) as Nostalgia.
Overall, Inside Out 2 is a long overdue return to form for both Pixar and Disney after a bumpy past few years and a worthy successor to the first film in just about every way. I felt the last act of the first movie was more impactful and emotionally powerful (No pun intended), but this film’s story felt more mature and geared towards adults than kids especially with its message about your amount of joy diminishing as you get older which I thought was very poignant and thought-provoking.
I also love how despite the emotions having a specific quirk, they’re all very three-dimensional and have layers to their personalities where Joy can get angry about something, Anger can show sympathy, and even Sadness can have moments of joy every now and then. They aren’t just one-note emotions and can have just as much depth as the person they’re inside.
The first Inside Out certainly had moments of comedy and many of them were quite hilarious, but the script here I thought was funnier than the first movie specifically with certain characters the emotions come across in Riley’s mind with jokes that not only made me laugh but laugh hard in the theater. To the point where I don’t want to explain any of them in the review because it’ll have a much bigger impact by seeing it for yourself.
People have speculated that the new emotions were going to be the villains of the movie, but the film is smart enough to know that isn’t the case. Anxiety is an antagonist but not a full-on villain and the new emotions introduced tie into the effects of growing up and becoming overly anxious about things in your life which is very well-handled here and leads to a bold resolution to the film’s conflict.
If you were disappointed by Disney’s recent releases over the past few years then you MUST go see this movie in theaters because Inside Out 2 is brilliant, touching, and entertaining throughout with thought-provoking messages for all ages. It encompasses what makes great Pixar and Disney entertainment that also challenges its audiences and gives them something new that just happens to be inside of a sequel.
I will gladly go see this again and demand more Inside Out films that show the emotions growing alongside Riley, welcome back Pixar.
No comments:
Post a Comment