It is common knowledge that Pixa has been experiencing both creative and financial difficulties. Since 2019, Toy Story 4 has not generated any huge income (it still leaves me cold). Maybe there was no actually great film in 2020 since Onward (that’s what I think). There are many theories as to why this is so; however, it can be said with confidence that Emeryville is in a fix.
Some insiders of the film industry hope for Inside Out 2 to be the savior and pull them out of this summer’s disastrous box office slate. Box Office? I don’t know. What I know is that it’s delightful if not as perfect as the original.
Synopsis
Inside Out 2 picks up about two years after the first film, and our girl Riley (Kensington Tallman) is now 13 years old. As an adolescent hockey prodigy with parents who cheer her on at every game and two BFFs who rock her world, she couldn’t ask for a better life. The emotions now all work together in harmony rather than against each other save for the replacement of two members of their team.
Riley gets invited to a hockey camp where she brings her friends alone by her high school coach. This camp starts off with a heavy blow for Riley: waking up into puberty and getting some difficult news from her friends.
In Riley’s mind, puberty hits her emotions like a wrecking ball, literally. Having more space for new emotions meant making changes: Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adele Exarchopolous), Embarrassment (Paul Walker Hauser).
Review
Joy (Amy Pohler) and Anxiety are the stars of the show, with both shining in their antagonism towards each other. When watching this movie I had never realized how much Joy was patterned after Pohler’s character in Parks and Recreation, but now that I’ve seen the movie it is obvious to me why she was cast as Leslie Knope, with her relentless positivity.
Stunned by Hawke’s Anxiety which successfully humanized this emotion for us both. The characterization of it was simply accurate, having lived with the emotion all my life.
As with the first film, there are some really inspired set pieces as we traverse different areas of her mind. World building is one thing Pixar always gets right; thus their best is always when they stick to it. They totally nailed the new and different ideas puberty brings about in visualization terms. Interestingly enough my thirteen-year-old daughter stated she felt a bit like she had been called out by this movie which means they must have got it spot on.
When talking about who worked on this project creatively there were two things that seemed strange to me. First off rookie director Kelsey Mann not Pete Docter directed this one and Docter’s strong voice isn’t here either. He didn’t write or anything but he did produce it through. Secondly, composer Michael Giachino has been replaced by his protege Andrea Datzman. Just like Docter he is missed by me too; however, I can see what they wanted for this narrative – practically an entirely female team
The film as I would put it, shows signs of last-minute alterations which are common in these days’ films, though not the usual Pixar. It is a good climax for the movie, but it does not quite stick the landing as expected. They didn’t tie up some loose ends, much contrary to what Pixar tends to do.
Watch Inside Out 2 on Kisscartoon
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