‘Inside Out 2’ Explains Why Puberty is a Pain in the Butt | Movie Review

Disclaimer: For those that haven’t seen Inside Out 2 (2024), I’m sorry for all the spoilers that are about to unfold in this review.

I wasn’t against the idea of Inside Out 2, but I had my doubts, like with any sequel for a beloved film. I’ve only seen the original once and that was during my junior year of high school. It wasn’t a favorite of mine, but I did appreciate the concept of exploring the mind and people’s emotions because up until then, I’ve never seen that covered in a Disney / Pixar film. My older sister, Tori, received a Sadness toy as a joke for Christmas because she was always “sad.” I also bought a Bing Bong stuffed plush a few years ago because he was on sale, but that’s as far as my connection to the movie goes.

Inside Out 2 follows Riley, who’s currently 13, and her core five emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Together, they help her navigate through life and all the curveballs that come with it. However, there’s one curveball they’ve been dreading the most, puberty. With Riley now a teenager, the group are introduced to a new set of emotions who have taken over Headquarters: Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. Anxiety immediately clashes with Joy, the leader of the core emotions, over how Riley should be portrayed in her new chapter of life. Anxiety wants to change everything about Riley for the sake of having a better future, while Joy wants her to stay just the way she is and go with the flow.

Photo by Disney / Pixar

One thing I appreciated about the sequel was we got to see Joy’s relationship with Fear, Anger, and Disgust. While the first film focused on Joy and Sadness finding their way back to Headquarters, Inside Out 2 focused on Joy, Fear, Anger, and Disgust finding their way back to Headquarters. The latter three played a bigger role in this film, which was nice.

Inside Out 2 could’ve been a remake of the original film, but with Riley aging and maturing, the core emotions were introduced to new challenges they’ve never experienced before. I remember my teenage years perfectly, especially high school, which I hated! So, watching Riley struggle with anxiety, embarrassment, envy, and all the toxic feelings I’ve dealt with before hit me hard on a personal level. In the original film, Riley was 11-12 years old and she just moved to a new home. When I was that age, all I cared about was Justin Bieber, so I couldn’t relate to what she was going through. However, in the second film, I saw myself in Riley because of all the troubles that come with being a teenager. I don’t know anything about hockey, but I know what it’s like to feel worthless and want to change who I am to be liked by others. 

Photo by Disney / Pixar

I thought Anxiety was the perfect unintentional villain for Inside Out 2. I say “unintentional” because she never meant Riley any harm. Like Joy, she wanted what was best for her. But obviously, Anxiety’s plans backfire because she pushes Riley to her breaking point. Realistically, that’s what anxiety is like. It’s supposed to make people nervous and fear the worst out of everything. Everyone experiences anxiety; some people are just better at hiding it than others. It could be argued that some anxiety is good because it keeps us on our toes, but when not handled properly, it can cause someone to have a panic attack (spoiler alert)!

Inside Out 2 also explores an interesting concept known as our “sense of self,” which is centered around our beliefs that define who we are as individuals. Joy initially wanted only happy memories to make up Riley’s sense of self. However, by the end of the film, Joy realizes Riley isn’t the same girl she was before. Her thoughts are more complex, therefore, she and the other emotions create a new sense of self for Riley that contains both negative and positive memories. Some days we feel terrible and other days, we feel great, and there’s nothing wrong with that because we’re not perfect and nobody expects us to be. This also ties back to why Anxiety was the perfect villain for the film. Because of their similarities, it took someone like Anxiety to make Joy realize her faults and see that Riley doesn’t have to be happy all the time to be a good person.

Photo by Disney / Pixar

By the way, as someone who grew up with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I thought the “Oh Pouchy!” jokes were genius. For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, picture Mickey and his friends in the middle of a crisis and they need a special tool to help them out. “Oh Toodles!” If you still don’t know what I’m talking about, watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and then check out Inside Out 2. 

The only criticism I have for the film is Anxiety’s character design. No offense to Pixar, but she’s probably the ugliest character I’ve ever seen in a Pixar film. With her messed up hair, striking orange coloration, big green eyes, and gigantic mouth, Anxiety looked like a ticking time bomb ready to explode! She’s a sight for sore eyes, but at the same time, her unusual character design fits Anxiety’s persona perfectly because she’s supposed to look like a complete mess. Other than that, I loved the visuals and bright colors used in the film, very whimsical. I also liked that Embarrassment’s character design resembled Bing Bong; they’re both big, pink, and fluffy creatures. 

Inside Out 2 is a fantastic follow-up to the first film. The storyline felt familiar without being a rehash of what worked previously. It’ll help people to understand themselves better and remember what puberty was like for them. Why do we worry about the future? Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves? These are problems we still face as adults, but teenagers are something else because they’re dealing with such complex emotions for the first time, meaning, they have no idea how to handle them. With all factors considered, I’ll give Inside Out 2 a rating of 4.5 out of 5.0 stars.

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Lana