Inside Out 2 has no official best-to-worst ranking of its emotions. This is an editorial ranking based on how strongly each character shapes Riley’s choices and changing sense of self, contributes to the story’s emotional payoff, and stands out through distinctive behavior and comedy. It weighs story and character impact more than audience appeal; a ranking focused on comic performance or design could look different.
The sequel follows Riley as she enters adolescence and her mind’s Headquarters makes room for new arrivals. Here are the emotions in order, with what each one does in the film.
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Every emotion in Inside Out 2, ranked
The order below is a judgment about these characters in this particular story, not an official Pixar ranking or a scientific scale. Anxiety and Joy sit high because they drive the central conflict; other characters rank for the specific ways they affect Riley’s development, sharpen a scene, or embody a recognizable feeling.
1. Anxiety
Anxiety is the sequel’s most consequential new arrival. She wants what is best for Riley, but her jittery, disaster-preparing approach takes over the effort to protect Riley’s future. That makes her more than an antagonist: she gives the film its central conflict and forces the returning Emotions to confront a new way of trying to help.
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- Disney and Pixar?s ?Inside Out 2? returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is disrupted by something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust aren?t sure how to feel when Anxiety and friends show up.
Pixar’s synopsis identifies Anxiety as the new arrival who disrupts Headquarters, while D23 frames her as a guardian rather than a villain. Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter has said the idea of Anxiety as a character spoke to him as a teenager and felt relevant. Maya Hawke voices the character.
2. Joy
Joy remains a leader among the original group, and her response to adolescence and Anxiety’s methods anchors the sequel’s emotional arc. Her importance is not simply that she is happy: she has to reckon with whether protecting Riley means trying to keep her experience positive or making room for a more complicated sense of self. Amy Poehler returns as her voice.
3. Sadness
Sadness earns a high place for her contribution to the film’s account of how Riley’s identity takes shape. In Disney’s description of the Belief System sequence, Sadness and Joy bring key memories to this formative area. That makes her presence matter beyond the familiar contrast with Joy: she helps connect Riley’s memories to the beliefs that make up her Sense of Self. Phyllis Smith voices Sadness.
Rank #2
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4. Embarrassment
Embarrassment is shy and quiet, but his instinct to flop onto the console at the first sign of social awkwardness gives the character a memorable physical joke and a clear role in Riley’s teenage experience. D23 describes him as a self-conscious sentinel. He ranks above some of the original emotions because the sequel turns his specific social discomfort into both character comedy and a useful part of Riley’s changing inner life. Paul Walter Hauser voices him.
5. Ennui
Ennui makes disengagement funny and instantly legible: bored, lethargic, and ready with an eye-roll. Her ability to operate Headquarters’ console remotely from her couch is one of the sequel’s clearest character gags, and it gives her a distinctive way to affect Riley’s behavior. Director Kelsey Mann described her as “boredom, disdain or this feeling of blasé” in Disney/Pixar production notes. Adèle Exarchopoulos voices Ennui.
6. Anger
Anger gives the returning group an instantly recognizable point of view and a source of comic force, even though he is not the main driver of this sequel’s conflict. Pete Docter used anger as an example of a basic-emotion concept audiences can readily recognize, telling a Disney-published interview: “Once you say that one word, people are like, ‘Oh yeah, I know anger.’” Lewis Black voices Anger.
Rank #3
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7. Fear
Fear is another familiar member of Riley’s original team. His readiness for danger offers a comic counterpoint to Anxiety’s future-focused worst-case planning, though the sequel gives him less influence over the central conflict than it gives the top-ranked characters. Docter also used fear as an example of an emotion people readily recognize. Tony Hale voices Fear.
8. Disgust
Disgust’s job is to keep Riley away from things she finds icky or painfully uncool, a role that fits the sequel’s teenage setting. The character’s sharp instincts make her a lively presence, but her contribution is more focused than those of the emotions higher on this list. Liza Lapira voices Disgust.
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Envy longs for what other people have and wants the latest, coolest things Riley lacks. Pixar and D23 describe that desire as helping shape Riley’s wants and goals, which gives Envy a recognizable place in the new group. She ranks last here because her role is less central to the story’s main conflict and emotional payoff—not because the film treats wanting things as unimportant. Ayo Edebiri voices Envy.
Rank #4
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Who are the emotions in Inside Out 2?
The returning group is Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. The four prominent new teenage arrivals are Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. They are not the only other emotion to appear: official project material also lists Nostalgia in the wider voice cast.
The characters help Riley navigate situations through Headquarters’ console. The film’s Sense of Self is a story concept formed from her beliefs; Disney describes each belief as audible, like a plucked string. These are the film’s imaginative rules, not a complete scientific taxonomy of emotion.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What are the new emotions in Inside Out 2?
- Anxiety tries to protect Riley by anticipating what could go wrong.
- Envy admires what others have and helps give Riley new wants and goals.
- Ennui embodies boredom and blasé detachment, including her remote control of the console through a mobile app.
- Embarrassment responds to social awkwardness and self-consciousness.
Those descriptions are specific to how Pixar presents the characters; they should not be read as diagnostic definitions.
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How the filmmakers developed Riley’s teenage mind
Pixar says the filmmakers consulted psychologists, read books, and discussed what happens to the teenage brain. Disney/Pixar production notes also say that nine girls, ages 13 to 16 when the initiative began in 2021, reviewed the film over three years as Riley’s Crew. Those are accounts of the production process, not proof that the film’s personified emotions form a clinically authoritative model.
Associate producer Kim Collins expressed the production team’s perspective in the notes: “They’re all OK to express and they all have value, and you shouldn’t bury some and only have the happy ones.”
Quick Recap
Film details
| Credit or detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Release date | June 14, 2024 |
| Runtime | 1 hour, 40 minutes |
| Director | Kelsey Mann |
| Producer | Mark Nielsen |
| Screenplay | Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein |
| Story | Kelsey Mann and Meg LeFauve |
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