"INSIDE OUT 2" - REVIEW
Pixar’s Oscar-winning INSIDE OUT gave me a lot to think about. In fact, many Pixar movies do. And now we have INSIDE OUT 2.
But first, a brief history:
Everyone knows that Pixar Animation Studios has made some of the most imaginative and endearing films of all time. Ever since their first feature film TOY STORY (also the very first fully computer animated feature film), they have told incredible stories that worked within the limits of what the technology could do at the time. In the instance of TOY STORY, they used the fact that everything looked like plastic to its advantage, and made the story about toys. Once they figured out how to convincingly animate fur with Buster the dog in TOY STORY 2, they gained the confidence to go full out with fur on MONSTERS INC. Rounding out its heyday, they have consistently leveled up and scaled up, moving from children’s bedrooms to the deep blue sea in FINDING NEMO (in which they solved water) and outer space in WALL-E (in which they solved dust), but always with the mantra of original Pixar honcho John Lasseter that “no amount of technology will turn a bad story into a good one.” While they often run the risk of “who is this for?“ they are often successful in finding a balance between creating true works of art which also move and amuse people of all ages.
Of course, Disney bought Pixar, they grew, times changed, and when anything becomes that big and successful, they became more risk-averse. It seems that computer animation for them now is as easy as breathing (I’m sure it’s more complicated than that, but go with it), and because Pixar has set the bar so high from an aesthetic point of view and a storytelling point of view, it’s hard to not be a little disappointed by their later output. What looked like a recent return to form with three back-to-back-to-back films—SOUL, LUCA and TURNING RED—which attempted to echo the vitality and adventurousness of their earlier work, was squelched by a worldwide pandemic, and by the convenience that Disney+ provides to watch it at home. Whatever the reasons, these movies were deemed unsuccessful, and Pixar has decided to move forward with a more conservative slate for the near future (read: sequels).
When Pixar announces a sequel, I get nervous. Their follow-ups to beloved films can run the gamut between the transcendent TOY STORY 2 and the incomprehensible CARS 2 (seriously, what were they thinking?!). So when a sequel was announced for the beloved yet esoteric INSIDE OUT, what many would consider to be top-shelf Pixar, I got really nervous. Besides the reason of money, is it worth going back into Riley’s mind?
I’m happy to report that Pixar answers that question with a humble, confident—and most importantly, entertaining—yes.
Taking the reins from original director Pete Docter (Pixar’s current COO and Bloomington native) is Kelsey Mann in his feature directorial debut, with a script he co-created with original INSIDE OUT screenwriter Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, and they don’t miss a beat in picking up where Riley and her emotions left off. Now Riley is thirteen, has developed a strong sense of self and everything seems balanced and in order… and then the Puberty alarm goes off. Joining Joy (Amy Poeler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Tony Hale in for Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Liza Lapira in for Mindy Kaling) is a whole new slew of completely valid, completely disruptive emotions: Envy (Aye Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and their excitable, ever-calculating leader, Anxiety (Maya Hawke).
I don’t want to get too far into a description, as a lot of the fun of this movie is in discovering it for yourself. What I will say is this:
If INSIDE OUT could be alternately titled I HAVE MANY EMOTIONS AND THAT’S OKAY!: THE MOVIE, then the alternate title for the sequel could be I FEEL SEEN/PERSONALLY ATTACKED… AND THAT’S OKAY!!: THE MOVIE. At times, it is a lot. You may feel seen. If you are an anxious person, like I am, you may feel personally attacked. However, I feel the movie also redeems the popular psychology buzzword of our time “anxiety,” because it reminded me that while being anxious can mean nervous energy that can get you worked up to a frenzy and paralyzed by indecision, it can also mean excitement to get going on something new. As with the first one, it isn’t good to let one emotion steer the ship for too long.
Overall, this is one of Pixar’s top-shelf sequels, and a validating reminder that we all contain multitudes, and that we need each of these emotions equally to be a full person. Like its predecessor, it will give you a whole lot to think about. My wife and I took our 10-year-old and our five-year-old, and it led to many thoughtful conversations about emotional intelligence, and it inspired some truly creative play, like this:
My children built this for reenacting INSIDE OUT 2 .
Our children retained so much of the movie and began acting it out with a marble run kit, toilet paper tubes, yarn and different colored pieces from around the house to represent the emotions. If a movie can inspire you to think AND do something, that’s the best of all.
Well done, Pixar.
But also, guys: leave WALL-E alone, okay? I mean it: WALL-E. IS. OFF. LIMITS.
#insideout2
Zach is a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance (MNFCA). For more info about Zach, the organization, or to read other great reviews from other great Minnesota-based film critics, click here: https://mnfilmcriticalliance.wordpress.com/