I remember back in 2015, I had the pleasure of being off work and heading to see Inside Out with my mom at the local AMC. I remember the auditorium was packed and the kids were being kids, loud and rambunctious. That was until the film truly began and you could feel the noise in the room shrink to a whisper. That’s when I knew this was going to be an immersive family film that would last, because if the children are attentive then you know it’ll soon become a favorite. Nevertheless, I, myself left the theater an emotional wreck due to the sudden demise of imaginary friend, Bing Bong (RIP). So going into the sequel to one of my favorite Pixar films at the time, should’ve been an exciting experience and yet my anticipation for this film was at an all time low. So how’d such a high profile sequel do when combined with such low personal expectations? 

 

For a film with emotions literally at its core, it sure was lacking them in its storytelling. Young Riley is developing into the next stage of her life and with that, new emotions take prominence. With the inclusion of Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Envy (Aya Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and Nostalgia (June Squibb), the emotions we’ve all come to know in the first film are forced out and placed on a mission to retrieve Riley’s ideal “self”. It’s essentially the same adventure as the original, just with a slight twist with Riley now entering her teenage years. 

 

A majority of the cast from Inside Out have returned for this sequel, with the exception of Bill Hader as Fear and Mindy Kaling as Disgust. While this should be fantastic news, it also feels as though most of them no longer fit their character properly, apart from Phyllis Smith as Sadness (to me you are perfect). Unfortunately, the replacements for our lost actors don't share the same enthusiasm their counterparts had and while kids aren’t going to miss a thing, as an adult, it’s a very noticeable recasting. 

 

Now let’s lay into the serious issues with this film. It's a family film with dramatic layers, but it’s also supposed to be a comedy. Within the runtime, I laughed out loud 3x and that’s concerning, because I know for a fact that I laughed throughout the entire first. For those who have already seen the film and are curious which moments hit the “funny-bone”, they were the Sarcastic Canyon, The Anger & Pouchy scene and Nostalgia’s entrance. This film lacks the comedic undertaking that the previous film possessed, instead going for Wreck-It Ralph-esque recycled jokes and overly serious moments of maturing on Riley’s side. 

 

The Riley storyline, I could understand and be enthralled by, anybody’s teenage years can be especially tough and it’s nice to see them relay that to an animated film in a way to prepare the youth. It's what's happening inside Riley’s mind itself that feels familiar, and lacking creativity. What Pixar continues to strive to do with each new entry is excel in its animation, with each piece of threading beautifully curated to flow in the wind and the atmosphere the studio has created remaining ever so fantastical. It’s truly in Pixar’s animation you can never fault them. 

 

Inside Out 2 may not steep to the level of the Cars franchise, but it also never conjures a reason for its existence. The new elements of the script leave a lot to be desired and the returning members of the cast fail to make up much ground. With such a fantastic premise at the soul of the story, it’s an unfortunate truth that Pixar dropped the ball on exploring such a prominent time in every person’s life with recycled tropes.