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Yesterday, ‘Inside Out 2’ (Disney & Pixar’s sequel to their 2015 ‘Inside Out’ movie, was released in Cinemas across the UK and I just knew that I needed to get there and see it as soon as possible.
The first ‘inside out’ film introduced us to the genius concept of the different emotions living inside the mind of a girl named ‘Riley’ - that movie concentrated on Riley moving house, and the emotional complexities that come with such a situation, especially for a girl of her age - it had everything, emotion (obviously), comedy, a good hearty story… but could the second movie spark such feeling? - I’ll tell you in this short review with as little spoilers as I can muster, so that you can enjoy the full movie for the first time.
Many sequels have been known to disappoint, but in my eyes ‘Inside Out 2’ really was the perfect sequel. The film opens with the characters we all know and love: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. It was great to see these emotions all working together and seeing ‘their girl’ Riley being happy and playing her game of Hockey.
The emotional dilemma for this film would be that Riley is trying hard to impress the coach and get onto her favourite hockey team ‘The Fire Hawks’ - so how would her inner emotions react to the stress and convey the determination that riley needed.
We are introduced to a cast of new emotions towards the beginning of the movie these include Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment - This causes a few slight problems amongst the emotions. I really enjoyed this dynamic as it was great to see some new feelings in HQ and to see how they all mix together is great.
Anxiety in particular takes quite a large role in this movie which i was really happy about, although i thought at first they were going to make her into a little more of a villain - but further along in the movie i realised it was a great depiction of this particular emotion and in my opinion, excellently portrayed.
The character of Envy crosses over a little bit with Disgust, much to her disgust. However when the original emotions find themselves outside of Headquarters, Envy gets her chance to shine, taking over the console sometimes and giving Riley a reason to be envious of other people until she gets what she wants.
Ennui.. Who takes on Riley’s boredom sits around for the majority of the film - interacting on occasion for some funny one-liners and Embarrassment is just adorable, such a loveable character.
We are also treated to some references to the original which the Disney Nerd inside of me just loves! One that I was kind of hoping for, and very pleased about was the inclusion of the ‘Triple Dent Gum’ theme song, and Also seeing Jordan’s face appear amongst others in the ‘Mount Crushmore’ - but i’ll leave all of those easter eggs and references to you to discover when you watch it!
This brand new movie, with new emotions but also with brilliant new lore and technicalities to the mind. Not only do we have core memories but now we have the idea that certain memories create Riley’s ‘Core personality’ and beliefs - which is essentially what makes Riley who she is, but we also get to see ‘Brain Storms’ and ‘Sarcasms’ which present their own effects on the mind but it was all very cool and interesting to see - This is why inside out was such a great movie and why their new innovative ideas just make the new film fantastic too!
Overall, for any Inside Out fan, this is perfect - it is full of feeling, heart and lots of emotion, just as much as the first film. These brand new characters bring an entirely new dynamic to headquarters and it is just thrilling from start to finish. The ideal mix of emotion and action - with a great deal of comedy in there as well.
If you do go and see the film then do let me know your thoughts!
P.S If you are visiting the disney Parks this month, don’t forget to try and meet Anger, for the first time ever!! (Little secret tip for you)
15th June 2024
Robbie Davies | Robbie’s Backstage Bants