Review: Inside Out 2

Growing up is hard. When you are young, everything is so simple, but once you hit puberty, your emotions are entirely thrown out of whack, and you have no idea why. The long-awaited sequel to Disney’s Inside Out digs into the why and honestly hits a little too close to home.

We are well acquainted with Riley’s five key emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Tony Hale), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Liza Lapira), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). As Riley grows, more emotions join the group and completely take over her brain. As soon as she hits her teens, Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and Enunui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) move in.

Every parent is prepared to wake up one day to experience that their child has hit puberty and say, “So it begins.” When this happens to Riley (Kensington Tallman), her emotions don’t really know what to do. And true to life, puberty hits at the most inopportune times. Riley is spending her summer with her two best friends at a very important hockey camp that could determine the outcome of her high school career. The pressure of achieving her goal is only amplified by the fact that she may be navigating high school by herself since her two best friends are set to begin their year at a different school.

As you grow into your teens, your brain becomes an emotional minefield that you constantly try to navigate. Emotions like Anxiety don’t make life any easier, and this decade-in-the-making sequel perfectly depicts that. Riley’s new emotions completely take over and suppress her core emotions. Thoughts like, “I’m not good enough,” set in, and they start to change you into someone you don’t recognize anymore. Anxiety is an emotion that always gets the best of us, but finding joy again takes us out of the darkness of our own minds.

Much like the first film, Inside Out 2 is an emotional rollercoaster. It perfectly balances humor and heartfelt moments while depicting true-to-life scenarios. Clever ideas are used to show how the brain works, like a stream of consciousness that is a literal stream filled with what Riley is thinking about, or, my favorite, a tornado filled with lightbulbs as a “brainstorm.” With almost ten years between the two films, the visuals are as dazzling as ever. The colors are vibrant, and there’s an intriguing texture to the characters and the world around them.

We all have one emotion that navigates our brains. Every so often, another one steps up to the control board and takes over. As this movie shows, we can’t let negative emotions win. They’re not bad emotions because they keep us grounded, but we just can’t let them take over. We have to learn how to tune out anxiety and let joy in. It’s an important message for all kids and even for adults to see.

Despite the possibility of needing to talk to a therapist after this movie, it is really entertaining and incredibly funny. It is a relatable movie that will make you think. The visuals are dazzling, and the voice acting is incredible. There is a clear message that is important for families to see, but it’s also just a fun movie to watch with your loved ones.