June 17, 2024 · Watch the official trailer
Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world into their homes for the better part of a year, conversations about mental health and what must be done to create a positive, stable sense of worth have skyrocketed globally.
While this is a very mature, adult conversation to be had, it can be hard to extend that needed discussion to younger children who are still figuring out their emotions and ways in the world, processing new and everchanging things daily.
Up until this point, a terrific way to bridge the gap in the conversation between kids and adults about mental health has been the 2015 Academy Award winning animated Pixar film “Inside Out” from director Pete Docter, which found a young girl’s emotions on the fritz as depression overwhelmed her and joy left.
Though “Inside Out” simplifies complex emotions for younger audiences, it does not paint a fuller picture of changing, evolving mental health issues in ways that conversation can be truly had in a post-COVID world. Almost ten years later, a sequel to this animated classic debuted in theaters this past weekend as “Inside Out 2” further expands its world, introducing more novel, complex ideas about the fragile nature of the mind with a focus on the ways that anxiety can radically change a person.
The film follows Riley, a young girl transitioning from middle school to high school embarking on a summer hockey trip with her friends only to find anxiety about those changes taking over her core being. The original emotions from the first films, led by a relentlessly energetic Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), are set on a quest to regain control of Riley’s mind after they have been suppressed and bottled up by Anxiety and other new emotions brought on by puberty.
The heart of the film comes from Poehler’s magnetic, dynamic vocal work as Joy that holds the screenplay together and gives younger viewers a bright, wide-eyed protagonist to follow while much of the story plays out in Riley’s mind.
Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black do excellent work in their return as emotions Sadness and Anger, respectively, but it’s newcomer to the franchise Maya Hawke as Anxiety who brings a manic quality to her vocal performance that almost feels like the opposite side of the same coin as Poehler’s Joy and truly brings the entire film together in a cohesive way.
What sets “Inside Out 2” apart from the average animated film is the nuanced complexity of the narrative. On the surface level, there’s a straightforward story to be told about how Joy and the other original emotions must get back to the command center to help Riley regain her sense of self. But from a larger perspective, the ways in which the narrative allows audiences to think about and examine the parts of the mind that feel commonplace is a much more intuitive, deeper, introspective, and thoughtful examination of mental health.
The evolution of simple memories in Riley’s brain developing into core beliefs that guide every action she takes is a masterful way of creating complexity in a film’s narrative while also feeling authentic to the human experience in ways animation usually does not.
Through the use of the Anxiety character, the sequel’s director Kelsey Mann and the filmmaking team show how seemingly negative emotions like anxiety, shame, and guilt can create an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and unworthiness that leaves one functional but almost incapable of feeling joy or happiness.
After the original film was nominated for two Oscars including a surprising original screenplay nom and unsurprising win for animated feature, it comes with little shock that the sequel is unquestionably a frontrunner in animated feature with the potential of repeating a screenplay nod as well in a much more competitive adapted category.
For viewers able to understand and follow the complexities of the emotions behind such a simple story, “Inside Out 2” is a cathartic cinematic experience that will leave adults vulnerable by the end of the 90-minute run time. This Pixar sequel is without a doubt one of the year’s best films – animated or otherwise – and certain to be among the most poignant, emotional movies of 2024.
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