Released in 2015, Pixar’s Inside Out centres around the inner workings of 11-year-old Riley Anderson’s mind and the emotions that influence her decisions: Joy, Fear, Sadness, Anger and Disgust. As Riley struggles to deal with her family moving to San Francisco, we follow her emotions as they learn to work together to help her navigate the topsy-turvy path of childhood.
I’m not a big fan of Inside Out but I don’t think that it’s a bad film. On the contrary, I think it’s another shining jewel in Pixar’s crown, a beautifully tender tale, full of emotion. It’s not only ingenious in its premise and imagination of what goes on inside the mind but deftly balances a sense of childish whimsical humour with the often harsh and painful realities of growing up.
Maybe the reason I’ve never connected with it is because I just became a teenager when it was released; I wasn’t young enough to be the target audience its message was trying to speak to but wasn’t yet old enough to reflect upon its psychologically astute reflections on life.
Yet, despite its excellence, it suffers from the pitfalls of many post-2010 Pixar movies, pulling on your heartstrings and tear ducts in a manner that feels more emotionally manipulative than earnest. Inside Out is great movie that tries a little too hard to be a Pixar movie.
I was somewhat sceptical then when Disney announced that they were making Inside Out 2 and was even more hesitant when it was revealed that it would follow Riley, and her emotions, navigating life as a teenager.
How could an all-ages family movie address the murky, messy topic of puberty? Could the movie communicate a mature issue effectively to both a young and old audience? I felt as though they would somehow manage to mess it up in a mind-numbingly cringe inducing manner and none of the marketing or trailers quelled my nerves in the lead up to its release.
Did I still go and watch it?
Of course! I’m a big kid with an unbound affection for Pixar and a sucker for big capitalist, corporate movie franchises. I even re-watched Inside Out in preparation and was surprised to find myself resonating with the movie and being moved by it like never before. As I am closing the door on one chapter of my life, opening the door on the next and scared for what the future could hold, Riley’s struggle in navigating turbulent emotions struck a chord.
So as I sat down in the cinema, ready to witness Inside Out 2, I was actually quite excited, especially as many reviews were calling it one of Pixar’s best films in recent years.
Was it any good?
Yes, it was good. In fact, it was great.
Was it one of Pixar’s best?
Well, not really.
Inside Out 2 follows Riley as she enters her teenage years. As headquarters is demolished, Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness have to make way for new emotions: Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui and Envy. When Riley struggles with the plethora of feelings and moods that come with puberty, the emotions have to learn to work together to help her through this new period in her life.
The sequel expands upon its predecessor in clever and inventive ways, telling another beautifully heart wrenching yet poignant tale that offers profound mediations on adolescence, with a particular focus on anxiety. As ever for Pixar, the worldbuilding on display is impeccable, with aspects of the mind and psychology explored intelligently and displayed with a beauteously vibrant animated flair. It is also filled to the brim with witty humour. The various mind related puns featured in the trailer had me rolling my eyes, worried that attempts at levity would be too heavy handed but the jokes landed pretty much every time. My housemate and I couldn’t stop giggling, snorting and belly laughing throughout the entire screening; we left a bit befuddled as to why the rest of the audience weren’t doing the same!
I couldn’t help but have an instant affection for Anxiety; an undoubtedly phenomenal character with an ingenious artistic design, bolstered by a stellar voice performance from Maya Hawke. The film’s message around anxiety serves as a soothing mediation to those who have emerged from the horrors of growing up but to those who will have to navigate the joyous yet horrendous years of being a teenager, it acts as a reassuring hug. It tells the audience that that it is okay to (forgive the pun) feel all inside out.
Despite this being the film’s greatest strength, it is also its greatest weakness. The message of the movie didn’t feel too forced but it still felt like a story that didn’t need to be told. Upon leaving the cinema, I felt as though I had been emotionally manipulated rather than profoundly moved, force fed a message in a perfectly palatable yet not completely comfortable manner. Whilst the first movie was a genuinely interesting reflection on growing up, Inside Out 2 felt as though it veered into lecture or PSHE territory, as though it was a generic pamphlet given to all schoolchildren that details the ABC’s of puberty. In order to put this message across, the beginning suffers from a heavy-handed exposition dump, instantly making it feel like a forced entry in a money-making franchise rather than a natural progression of Riley’s story.
It is also re-tread’s the same plot beats of the first film. Whilst new concepts and ideas are introduced that allow it to feel exciting, the plot still revolves around the emotions being separated from headquarters and having to trail their way through Riley’s mind in order to save her from a mental breakdown, all whilst Joy learns a valuable lesson about how to help Riley. I am also gutted that Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling were not given the pay they deserved to reprise their respective roles of Fear and Disgust; the new voice actors didn’t do a bad job by any means but I still noticed the difference. Riley’s other new emotions also offered an amazing opportunity to explore the wide range of emotions teenagers can experience in a single day, yet they feel entirely wasted, relegated to background pieces, used as Anxiety’s sidekicks.
Despite its flaws however, Inside Out 2 is still a good movie. It made me laugh, cry, smile and cringe in the best way possible. It sadly just didn’t feel necessary. Like the first film, it is great but just tries too hard to be a Pixar movie. This hasn’t stopped it from becoming the highest grossing animated movie of all time, only six weeks after its release. Disney will now undoubtedly be greenlighting more unnecessary sequels (we’re already getting a Toy Story 5), that I will still fork over money to see.
Pixar has proved to be a truly inventive studio, producing the best animated movies to ever grace the silver screen and this creativity still shines through in Inside Out 2, with a moving story, wonderful world building, impeccable voice performances and even the fusion of different animation styles. With studios creating even more sequels to turn a profit however, I pray that they don’t lose their passion in telling new stories, as it was this very passion, creativity and willingness to do something new that led to the release of Inside Out in the first place.
I just really hope we don’t get Inside Out 3.
Inside Out 2 is now playing in cinemas.
test