Inside Out 2 is one of the entries this year that fall under the adage of what was once old is now new again. Mix in a fresh batch of new Pixar themed toys, a heavy ad campaign with McDonalds, and the end result is you’ve captured an audience. My oldest son was probably talking about wanting to see this movie for a good two months prior to its release. My biggest struggle with this 2nd venture in Riley’s head was the idea if it was even necessary. While I understood the rationale behind the movie was to look at Riley as she went in puberty and how she’s handling these new emotions, but it seemed that we ventured into this towards the end of the 1st movie. Meg LeFauve co-wrote the 1st movie and took the sequel on by herself and the end result just didn’t feel complete.
The movie felt like it was composed of many great parts with very little connective tissue. Reaching a wide audience with a message of as we grow older, we become a complex emotional mess, is wonderful. Showing the dangers of succumbing to anxiety and wanting to be part of the crowd, is brilliant. Talking about suppressing who you are is terrible, is a message all kids should here. But the film go lost in this minutia of the floating stream on conscience and wacky character quirks which took away from the quality of the project. I mean the movie is fine as far as Pixar projects go, but far from the quality of the 1st film.
I mean, I get why Amy Pohler returned and Lewis Black because they certainly saw the box office potential. I do think adding Maya Hawke was a great decision but would have loved to see more of her interacting with the OG cast and having them play more of a role in the story’s outcome as her fellow new emotions were essentially forgettable. My biggest concern is where this story goes as we all know that any moment, Pixar is going to green light the 3rd installment of this franchise. Why? Cause money talk and Inside Out 2 continues to bring in patrons.
Dewey Singleton has been reviewing new releases in television and film for many years. Dewey's reviews have been heard in multiple markets (Houston Atlanta, Tampa). Dewey's past work has been with awardswatch.com, awardsradar.com, and bleeding cool. Dewey is a proud member of the CCA.