In 2015, Pixar released its 15th theatrical film, Inside Out, which explored the personified emotions of a young girl named Riley. The flick was met with praise from reviewers and the general public alike, and it ranks as one of Pixar’s best movies. Now Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust are back to contend with new emotions that have entered Riley’s mind, as Inside Out 2 is about to arrive onto the 2024 movies schedule. Ahead of the release, critics have started sharing their thoughts on the sequel, and it looks like Pixar has another hit on its hands.
Starting off, CinemaBlend’s Inside Out 2 review has our own Sarah El-Mahmoud giving the sequel 4.5 out of 5 stars. She stated that although Inside Out 2 doesn’t quite reach the same quality level as its predecessor, it nonetheless does a remarkable job of exploring this new phase of Riley’s life, which sees Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment setting up shop amongst the established emotions.
It’s beautiful to know that both Inside Out movies can live inside our collective brains rent-free to, if anything, remind us of the collective adventures of mixed emotions constantly going on in each of our own heads.
Variety’s Owen Gleiberman echoed the opinion that Inside Out 2 is nearly as exceptional as its predecessor, calling the new emotions a “deliriously fun crew” and musing that the movie may be “the most poignantly perceptive tale of the conundrums of early adolescence since Eighth Grade.”
Inside Out 2 can’t shock us with its out-of-the-box imaginative daring the way Inside Out did. But the film’s director, Pixar animation veteran Kelsey Mann (making his feature filmmaking debut), and the screenwriters, Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, build on the earlier film’s playful brilliance and come about as close as we could have hoped for to matching it.
Brian Pruitt from USA Today gave Inside Out 2 3.5 out of 4 stars. He said it’s “one of the better revists” in Pixar’s history because of how well it knows its audience,” though he also noted that the movie starts to lose focus towards thew middle of the story.
Who hasn’t felt anxiety getting the better of joy, or a natural connection between sadness and embarrassment? With empathy, hope and a heap of metaphors, it’s a matured Inside Out that still understands the wonders and wrinkles of being a kid.
Slashfilm’s Chris Evangelista was slightly less impressed with Inside Out 2, giving it a 7/10 score. But his criticisms aside, Evangelista admitted that the sequel knocked him for “an emotional loop,” and he also surmises that the movie becomes “a little extra powerful” for younger viewers who “can’t quite articulate why they feel the way they feel.”
Inside Out 2 may not reach the emotional highs of the first film, but don’t be surprised when it reduces you into a sobbing mess at the end.
Finally, Olly Richards from Empire awarded Inside Out 2 with a 4/5 star score, stating that while most of the new characters are “a bit thin,” they’re used for “some first-rate visual comedy,” and Anxiety in particular shines as the “misguided, not-quite-villain.”
Through this decade so far, Pixar’s films have held great ideas that haven’t quite reached their full potential. This is probably its best film since Coco, and best sequel since Toy Story 3.
These are just some of the opinions circulating about regarding Inside Out 2, so feel free to look elsewhere to see what other critics are saying about the movie. Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black respectively reprise Joy, Sadness and Anger in the sequel, and Tony Hale and Liza Lapira respectively take over as Fear and Disgust from Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling. Other new voices in the mix include Maya Hawke as Anxiety, Ayo Edebiri as Envy, Adèle Exarchopoulos as Ennui and Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment. Kelsey Mann directed the movie, and Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein wrote the script.
You’ll be able to judge Inside Out 2 for yourself when it opens in theaters this Friday, June 14. Ahead of the release, remember that you can Inside Out with your Disney+ subscription.