Miss Flicks

Inside Out 2: Film Review

Inside Out set a very high bar for Pixar films so it was always going to be difficult for Inside Out 2 to live up to it. Although the sequel is smart and funny, it inevitably falls short of the original.

As you may remember from the first film, the action takes place inside the head of a young girl named Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman) and follows her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale) and Disgust (Liza Lapira) – as they help guide her through life. In the sequel, Riley hits puberty and her feelings become more complex so four emotions get added to the mix – Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser).

Joy has always been in control of Riley’s ‘console’, which controls her decision-making, and wants her to always be happy and stick to her core belief that she’s a good person. Anxiety has a different approach and they fight for dominance over Riley, all while she is attending an ice hockey camp.

Just like the first film, Inside Out 2 is funny, relatable and so clever. The inventiveness and creativity blew my mind; whoever came up with the brilliant visual manifestations of sarcasm, nostalgia and brainstorming deserves a raise. I loved all of the ideas but the story they exist within is quite weak. It works best at the start when it’s introducing the new concept and characters but it doesn’t really know where to go after that. Thankfully, the ending brings it all together and packs a poignant punch.

This is the most complex and mature film Pixar has ever made. For that reason, I think adults will get more out of it than children. However, I can see it being a valuable educational tool to help young people make sense of their complicated emotions. This is a great depiction of how anxiety can take over your life and there are plenty of important messages – that your emotions don’t define you, that people contain multitudes, and that bad memories make you who you are. 

Inevitably, with a significantly expanded ensemble, some characters are going to be underutilised. Joy and Anxiety are the main players here – and Poehler and Hawke are perfect – but it’s a shame the newcomers didn’t get more to do, particularly Ennui and Envy. They had a few gags here and there but that was kind of it.

Inside Out 2 was never going to match the magic of the first film simply because we have seen it all before so that novelty has gone. But it is still a great animation with gorgeous visuals, a hilarious voice cast and important messages.

In cinemas from Friday 14th June and on Disney+ from Wednesday 25th September