I had been excited to see Inside Out 2 for a while, the first movie was a blast and the idea of Riley getting a whole load of new emotions sounded like so much fun. While Inside Out 2 is a very fun movie, I think that Pixar did a great job of showing anxiety and how it can affect us, and how hard it is for some of us to deal with. It could have been something that was handled so badly, but that is not the case at all.
How to Download Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 was released on June 14, 2024. You can expect to be able to download or stream the film from Disney+ about two months later. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. Don’t forget to watch Inside Out first.
The Movie Review
Before I get into the actual movie, I do have to talk about how my movie theatre was packed! The screen I was in was pretty much sold out and the theatre in general was very busy as this was shown on multiple screens. This is great news for Disney as they have really needed a big hit as they have certainly had some misses at the box office over the last 12 months. Plus, this is great for the movie theatre too as the last few times I have been, it has been so quiet!
Riley’s Coming of Age Story
I would say that the best way to describe Inside Out 2 is that it is a coming of age story. Riley has turned 13 and she and her two best friends are going to stay at a hockey camp before they go to high school. On the drive to the hockey camp, Riley finds out that her two friends are not going to be attending the same school that she is and this sends her emotions into overdrive!
Riley’s Emotions Go Into Overdrive
Add to this the fact that there is a cool older girl who takes a liking to her and she appears to get on the wrong side of the coach, and Riley’s emotions have their work cut out for them. I laughed so hard at the big puberty alarm inside Riley’s head and this is where we meet the first of her new emotions, Anxiety.
Anxiety Takes Over
Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust are a bit taken aback by Anxiety, but Anxiety does appear to have some good ideas at first. As well as Anxiety, Riley’s other new emotions are Embarrassment, Envy, and Ennui. There is another one, Nostalgia who popped up a few times, I got such a kick out of this and the way they would shove Nostalgia back into her room when she came out as it was too early for her.
Riley starts to spiral as she is freaking out that her friends are going to a different school and she now has this older cooler kid in Val and her friends that seem to be taking a liking to her. Riley does not know what to do and this is where Anxiety kicks into high gear as Anxiety takes over Riley’s emotions and suppresses the original emotions! We then have Joy and the gang trying to find their way back, to stop Anxiety from taking over and ruining Riley’s life.
Pixar Handles Anxiety with Care
Pixar truly has done an amazing job here with the way that they handle such a delicate and relevant topic as anxiety. Inside Out 2 has a ton of heart and some pretty heavy and emotional moments too. There are also many laugh out loud moments such as when they go into where Riley keeps her secrets and we meet her first crush and the childhood cartoon dog that she loved.
I had a feeling that Inside Out 2 was going to be good, but it was even better than I thought it would be! This movie walks that fine line between being something that little kids will laugh at, and older kids and adults will get on another level. This looks like it is going to be a monster hit for Disney and it is well deserved!
