Inside Out 2: A Movie Review

Four sisters review Pixar’s latest movie, Inside Out 2, discussing what we liked, what we didn’t like, and how to make it more than just a movie.

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Inside Out. The perfect (in my opinion) movie about dealing with big feelings, accepting all emotions as valid, and the power of friendship and family. So to say I was excited about a sequel introducing more emotions, a growing Riley, and finding out what the ominous red “Puberty” button on the console would mean is an understatement. 

This is and has always been my favourite Pixar Movie (and edging out my favourite Disney movie of all time, if I’m being honest!) I was definitely optimistically hopeful that this movie would be great – and it absolutely exceeded my every expectation!

This sequel deals with so many huge themes, and honestly I don’t even know how to start describing how much I love love love it. 

Premise:

Riley is now a teenager, and with it experiencing mood swings, acne, and growing out of her favourite clothing (relatable). Every little thing that the core emotions try to do ends up… shall we say… explosive. I was laughing so hard in the theater. 

Along with the intensity of her emotions, we are also introduced to 4 new emotions: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui (pronounced “on-wee”  – meaning “the boredom”). Such teenage emotions.

My favourite addition, however, to this movie was the “sense of self”. All of the choices and memories Riley has made have turned into a core of who she is; her beliefs. This was so powerful to me. I was REALLY nervous about this, but Disney/Pixar did an amazing job of expanding Riley’s world without being out there, and just perfectly showed how beliefs impact the day to day of a teenager. 

But what happens when that sense of self and those core beliefs are shaken? We get to see this when Anxiety is introduced, and with it doubt, and feelings of inadequacy. 

Our Thoughts:

Danielle

As someone that has dealt with her fair share of anxiety, I honestly related so hard to this movie. I related to how Anxiety driving can shake the truths and beliefs that I have in myself. I related to how it can be more harmful than good. There was a lot of healing in this movie, having them show an on-screen panic attack, and how important it is to kids and teens to see that conflict. I saw this movie with my almost 7 year old, and already we have been able to use it to help her through some big emotions to help her, and us, understand her needs in the moment. I laughed. Almost cried. And I just wanted a big hug afterwards, especially as I said before with how I felt our mom would have really liked it. Personally, I wasn’t a fan though of the voice recast for both Anxiety and Envy.

Elisia

I was able to see it twice within about a week: once with my family, and once for work when I got to help support our teacher-librarian take kids from the “Random-Fandom” club on a field trip. Hearing them de-brief the movie made my English-teacher-heart so happy. The way that Pixar was able to take abstract constructs and make them concrete was dazzling. The teenagers excitedly talked about how, as they were close to graduation, they fear that they may experience less joy as they grow older as well as the various other themes.

Erica

I cried through a chunk of the movie – but the biggest reason is just because this so needed be shared! The way they tied in anxiety into the complex emotions was nothing short of brilliant. It was so honoring and affirming to feelings that come with anxiety. This movie was so needed and will be such a beautiful tool moving forward to teach young and old about emotions!

Heidi

Having a fresh 13 yr old in our home this movie really drove home the reality of teenage emotion. My husband and I kept looking at each other and nodding. Yup, this is definitely what we are experiencing at home. Once again Disney took truth and reality and made it into a delightful movie that both teens and parents can relate to. I loved it. 

Bringing it home:

Other than the applications of this movie for Therapeutic purposes, there is always fun ways to bring the magic of the movie home. 

I am a bit of a makeup girlie. So I did an “inspired by” series and had an Inside Out look. By using some water activated liner, I added lots of colourful dots to emulate the memories. Super simple, yet fun!

One of the fun things we suggest is hosting a “viewing party” and have each family or guest bring a color board! It’s so fun to unleash the kids in the grocery store telling them to find all the “green” or “red” or “purple” things! You will be surprised how fun it is! Here’s an example of a green board.

Have you seen Inside Out 2? Are you planning to? What did you think? As always, we’d love to hear from you!

Have a magical day,
Erica, Heidi, Elisia and Danielle