One of Inside Out 2’s subplots hits harder than the central story
In Pixar’s 2015 movie Inside Out, the ultimate message is that we all need emotional balance to fully experience life — which means embracing some of our less enjoyable emotions, like sadness and anger. That message plays out via five personified emotions commandeering the mind of an 11-year-old girl named Riley, who’s navigating some big life changes.
Kelsey Mann’s 2024 sequel Inside Out 2 continues the theme — but this time, Riley’s going through puberty, so a host of new emotions crashland into her head.Inside Out 2 once again neatly emphasizes the importance of emotional regulation — but there’s also a separate thread about a teenager solidifying her sense of self and accepting that she isn’t going to be a totally good person all the time. That’s a particularly intriguing plot point — especially given how it plays out via a seeming character contradiction that’s never fully resolved. The whole thing could use more space and detail, but instead, it takes a back seat to the plot about emotional balance.
[Ed. note: This post contains end spoilers forInside Out 2.]
In the new movie, Riley, now 13, is about to go to a prestigious hockey camp. Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Riley’s other emotions think they have a handle on things, until a host of new emotions, led by Anxiety (Maya Hawke), arrive on the scene. Anxiety quickly takes over, convinced that her preparation and planning will set Riley up for success in high school, and she punts the other emotion characters to the back of Riley’s mind.
Eventually, after a great deal of conflict, Anxiety realizes she needs to step back and make room for Joy and the others. While anxiety is useful in small doses, it shouldn’t be a singular driving force in anyone’s life — just as Joy realizes in the first Inside Out that she can’t be in charge of Riley’s emotional life at all times, and that Sadness needs a chance to let all Riley’s tears out.
As cathartic as that realization is, however, it’s dueling with
Read more on polygon.com
