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Movie Review: Inside Out 2

Mike Tyrkus

Pixar has a knack for making stories about the turbulence of adolescence universally relatable. Their latest offering, the splendid sequel to 2015’s Inside Out, appropriately titled Inside Out 2 doesn’t necessarily continue the narrative of the first film, more so than it continues the development of the film’s protagonist.

Following the events of the first film – wherein young Riley found herself and her family uprooted from their Midwest home and relocated to San Francisco – Inside Out 2 picks up with Riley rapidly approaching the next big challenge of her life – puberty.

As the film begins, Riley and her friends are preparing to head to a hockey camp in preparation for attending a new high school as well as possibly making the school’s hockey team. Initially, Riley and her friends, as well as the core emotions within her head – Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Liza Lapira), and Fear (Tony Hale) – are excited at the prospect, but once she arrives at the camp and meets the captain of the school’s team, Riley’s behavior begins to change. This results in a few new voices inside Riley’s head that include Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) wreaking havoc within Riley’s mind as her previous caretakers struggle to regain control of Riley’s emotions (and life).

Director Kelsey Mann assumes the reigns from Pete Docter and co-director Ronnie Del Carmen to deliver an impressive debut feature after having spent the better part of the last twenty years as a storyboard artist for a variety of television projects. Working from a script by returning writer Meg LeFauve and newcomer Dave Holstein, Mann infuses the film with the wit and heart that have become the standard of the Pixar/Disney brand. This, coupled with the coming-of-age approach of the film – especially from the perspective of a teenage girl – makes Inside Out 2 a unique experience on multiple levels.

(From left) Joy (Amy Poehler) and Anxiety (Maya Hawke) in a scene from “Inside Out 2.” © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Returning performers Poehler, Smith, and Black deliver more of the spectacular voice work they did in the previous film. Meanwhile, replacements for Bill Hader’s Fear and Mindy Kalling’s Disgust – Hale and Lapira respectively – step ably into the character’s shoes and produce similarly entertaining performances. Among the newcomers, Hawke is the obvious standout as her character is afforded the most screen time – logically so as a teenager would be beset most by anxiety when confronted with both the challenge of high school and the onset of puberty. That doesn’t mean that Riley’s other new emotions do not get their own individual opportunities to shine. Or, more appropriately, cause problems for the new teenager.

Pixar continues to impress with each new film the studio releases, and Inside Out 2 is no exception. Although the law of diminishing returns would suggest a lesser outing for a sequel to a superlative film like its predecessor, this product has the distinction of being one of those rare sequels that equals – and in some ways – surpasses the original.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

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