Inside Out 2 – Review
© Disney Pixar
The first Inside Out has been deified over the past nine years. It hit this mythical sweet spot that animation had been achieving for years, with audiences seemingly fascinated by an animated film that could appeal to both children and adults, whilst also signalling the start of ‘crying at Pixar movies’ being a personality trait. Animation that probed themes relating to adulthood had existed on a mainstream level before. Films like Fantastic Mr. Fox and Pixar’s own The Incredibles didn’t go under the radar and tackle much heavier themes. What Inside Out did differently was openly talk about abstract concepts like emotions in a way that was legible in an adventure movie aimed at kids.
To give it its credit, it’s a miracle that Inside Out even works, which means making a sequel was tempting fate a little. The first film’s message of sadness being a part of existence leaves a lot of room to explore other aspects of how we deal with emotions, but it’s a challenge to push this further and still have everything make sense, even within a cartoon-logic structure.
The smartest, but simultaneously most disappointing, decision Inside Out 2 makes is to not bite off more than it can chew. This is a film about Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust dealing with the arrival of Anxiety as Riley hits puberty. Other new emotions include Envy, Embarrassment, Nostalgia and Ennui, who play their part but don’t have the film built around them the way that it is with Anxiety. Much like with the first movie, the gang are sent on a trip around Riley’s mind, this time with Anxiety having banished them in the name of Riley requiring “more sophisticated emotions.”
This is such an interesting idea to explore – the way we evolve from beings who look to survive in the moment to intelligent life that needs to plan for the future. Is there a need for Fear when the biggest threats to our livelihoods are things we can’t see yet? What place does Joy have when life gets more serious? The opening act of Inside Out 2 integrates these questions into its cartoony wheelhouse, managing to build upon the depth of the first film while also playing as an accomplished comedy.
Once Anxiety ejects the original crew from the forefront of Riley’s mind, they’re banished to a vault alongside the rest of Riley’s secrets. Here is where the most subversive elements of the film lie. We’re introduced to Bloofy, a 2D animated character from a once beloved children’s show. Bloofy is animated beautifully, snapping between poses in the charming way cheap 2D animation does, interacting with the 3D elements seamlessly from multiple angles. Just as impressive is the animation of Lance Slashblade, a Final Fantasy-esque character who’s pixelated figure espouses melodramatic nothings as music swells behind him and his hair flows in the non-existent wind, clipping through his back and sword.
These two characters are the funniest gags in Inside Out 2 and represent the biggest innovations the studio has made in between this and the last movie. The staff at the studio have become so flexible and the technology and audience for animation has become a lot more accepting of different styles coexisting in the same studio. Equally impressive is the focus the film has on the texture of the emotions’ skin.
© Disney Pixar
There are intense closeups where you can discern the material they’re made of, which is this ethereal collection of sparks that come together to weave a fabric. It’s stunning work, and in light of Pixar’s mass layoffs, I can’t help but wonder how many of the artists who made this happen are now left without work. This issue is brought more into focus during a scene where a group of animators inside Riley’s mind, tasked with coming up with what-if scenarios, start a revolt against Anxiety’s tyrannical crunch practices. Having a scene emphasising worker’s rights after laying a bunch of them off due to Disney’s misguided attempts to boost their streaming service just feels a bit wrong.
As for Bloofy and Lance, their presence in the film is painfully fleeting, hence why the film could have done with biting off a little more, even if it lacked confidence in its ability to chew. The second act of Inside Out 2 feels like the film trying to keep itself together in order to cleanly arrive at its thesis statement in the final act. This period is where the film begins to fray rather than thrive, and upholding some of the more daring animation and energetic characters would have elevated a solid film to a great one.
© Disney Pixar
Inside Out 2 is another instalment that works, against the odds. As tricky as the second act gets, when it does arrive at the thesis statement that Anxiety is a necessary part of life which needs to be controlled and parsed out in small doses, it’s delivered really, really well (even if having that figured out as a 13 year old is a bit fanciful).
For those who want to go into a Pixar movie to cry, this doesn’t disappoint. The studio remains expert at focusing on what it wants to say with each film and delivering on pathos for its characters in a way that can push its audience to see the world a little differently. I wish I had a film like this growing up, and there aren’t many bigger compliments than that.
Inside Out 2 is released in UK cinemas 14 June 2024