Inside Out 2 (2024) Review

After 9 years and many films under their belt, Pixar and Disney have finally released the sequel to the fantastic Inside Out and today, I found the time to watch Inside Out 2 and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Riley tuning into a teenager, this introduces new emotions to Riley's mind which causes a conflict between the older emotions and these new ones. 

Main Character

Amy Poehler reprises her role as Joy and she is really good in the role. She has her own story arc throughout the film and though I don't think it was quite as good as it was in the first film, by the end of the film I did appreciate it and think it was well done. I preferred her interactions with the other older emotions and think Joy was a better overall character here. 

Supporting Characters

Maya Hawke plays the main new emotion Anxiety. She is kind of an antagonist of the film and though it is kind of by the numbers, I did enjoy the character and her development. She is trying to do her best for Riley but struggles with how exactly to do that. 

Phyllis Smith reprises her role as Sadness and she is nowhere near as important in this film as she was the first but that is okay and I think it actually better for this film as Sadness worked in her slightly smaller role. But once again the MVP of the film is Anger played by Lewis Black and he was so much fun and his fits of anger are hilarious, they even give him a bit more depth and it worked for me. 

I was very surprised that both Fear and Disgust were recast for this film. Bill Hader & Mindy Kaling are gone and this time we get Tony Hale and Liza Lapira in their places and they just aren't as good. They are kind of given bigger roles here but they do very little with it and I think it would have been better had we had the original actors. 

I also didn't really care for the new emotions (except for Anxiety). We get Envy, Embarrassment & Ennui. They just don't offer that much and are completely overshined by Anxiety who owns every scene that involves this group which is a shame given the potential that all these new emotions have. 

Story

The story is good, it focuses way more on Riley and events that take place in her life and how hitting puberty and the lead up to high school really affects her. By the end of the film, I did like the story and the emotions story does have some real heart and care to it. But, a criticism I give this film is the fact that there is some re-treading from the previous films story just involving different emotions and though it was done well it did affect the overall quality of the story. 

Script

I am happy to report that the clever writing from the first film is back here and this is one of the major reasons that this film is accessible to adults. The comedy is still well written and there were laughs here and when the emotion is put into it, this film really nails it and does it really well. 

Style

The style of the film is very similar to the previous one and there is no problem with that. It is colourful and has great visuals for sure. The film is also 90 mins, just like the first film and it flows by really well and is a really easy watch. 

Overall

Overall, Inside Out 2 is a great sequel. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as the first film but this is a really great film and a worthy sequel that is once again a great family film. 

Rating - 8/10