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Plot: What’s it about?
I only have vague recollections of the first Inside Out, but I was looking forward to the sequel. That is because of good word of mouth, and it looked rather fun. I kept putting it off in theaters for multiple reasons (life happens, other movies came before it), but I am glad now that I can have watched it and to provide my thoughts. I think there’s a reason this was a huge hit this past summer as it taps into things that all of us can relate to. That is the theme of dealing with our various emotions and how to get through life, especially as we approach our teenage years. While I didn’t find it quite as effective as some other Pixar features, I still think it’s a worthy addition in the Disney/Pixar canon.
We catch up with Riley (Voiced by Kensington Tallman) who is entering her teenage years. This has all her emotions now running rampant as puberty enters way. There’s an opening hockey game that shows us this on full display. One of the joys of these two entries is being able to relate to these various emotions ourselves since we all have gone through them at some point in our lives. We find the headquarters where all the emotions are before they’re released through someone’s daily interactions. Some new emotions we have are anxiety, sadness and envy. There’s focus on the battle in Riley’s brain of which emotion will win. I enjoyed how the emotions are basically characters that have their own methods. The transition between the headquarters and the real world was always fun to watch.
Those familiar with the first feature will have an idea of what to expect from this first sequel. There’s familiarity here, but also an attempt at doing something new and different, and that was refreshing to see. I will say that I am in no way the target audience, and I won’t say my attention didn’t drift a little. Don’t take this as a huge knock as I am sure the younger audiences will appreciate this more than this male in his late 30’s did. Still, the animation is beautiful to look at, the story is brief and moves along nicely and there’s a sweet message here without being heavy handed with it.
Video: How’s it look?
With a 2.39:1 transfer and this being a modern Pixar feature, I expected only the best here, and indeed I got that. Colors popped, background and forefront. There wasn’t an issue here that these eyes detected. The emotions and this world are very colorful, and they all came across beautifully. This was indeed a sight to behold.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Also strong is the DTS HD track. It’s a noisy film to be sure, but all the channels showed balance and remained active throughout. Clarity and crispness came from the vocals, but the action sequences are what kept things lively and engaging. Viewers should feel pleased.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- New Emotions – With Riley’s imminent puberty, the story of Inside Out 2 always suggested that there would be a party of new emotions complicating Riley’s world—and throwing a wrench into Joy’s hard-won stability. But exactly what those new emotions could be was a big question mark. Casting the new emotions in Riley’s mind was a fun exploration into the shifting mindset of a teenager, and was also informed by some of the discarded scenes and characters from the original film. In this documentary we’ll discuss that process of creating Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Envy—from narrowing them down from a long list of possible emotions, to the design, animation, and voicing of these new, hilarious, and strangely recognizable characters.
- Unlocking the Vault – In a kind of visual commentary, a group of central creatives watch and discuss the scene “The Vault.” As they stop and start—and refer to various IP versions of the scene—we’ll hear about the inspiration for Riley’s repressed memories like Bloofy and Lance Slashblade, the development of the scene in Story, and the technical challenges of creating 2D characters that exist in the CG world of Riley’s mind.
- Deleted Scenes
- Cold Open – In this alternate opening, a now 13-year-old Riley awkwardly fumbles her way through an original song she wrote for a school audition.
- Broken Joy – After momentarily being unable to drive the console, Joy worries that she might be starting to malfunction.
- Pool Party – After Riley tries too hard to be fun at an older teen’s party – resulting in utter embarrassment – her “Anxiety” becomes “Self-Loathing” who then ousts our hero emotions from headquarters.
- Puberty Park – After seeing their faces printed on “wanted posters,” Joy and the others rogue emotions race through a puberty-themed amusement park while being chased by mind worker cops.
- Shame Spiral – At a lock-in with some cool, older girls, Riley and friends play a game of “Never Have I Ever” that goes a bit too far – wreaking havoc in Riley’s mind.
The Bottom Line
I did enjoy this, at least in parts. I am simply not the target audience, but that’s OK. Not every feature from Pixar will have the Toy Story effect on me, but that’s also because I was much younger when I saw the first one. This should indeed please the target audience and it can be very relatable in many ways with the emotions and simply becoming a teenager.
