Inside Out 2 is a funny, empathetic return to Riley’s mind that finds its strongest material in the messy work of growing up. Its familiar adventure structure and more literal emotional metaphors keep it from matching the first film’s imaginative leap, but its performances and account of anxiety make a persuasive case that it is among Pixar’s best films since Soul. That ranking is a critical judgment, not a settled consensus.
What is Inside Out 2 about?
Riley is 13, at hockey camp and facing the shifting friendships and pressures that come with adolescence. Inside Headquarters, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust are joined by four new emotions: Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment. The new arrivals unsettle the old team’s routines just as Riley starts worrying about who she needs to become.
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Anxiety takes charge with a protective intention: anticipate what could go wrong and prepare Riley for it. But that impulse turns harmful when it begins making decisions for her, even at the cost of the beliefs and relationships that have shaped her so far. Meanwhile, Joy and the displaced emotions confront a harder idea than simply restoring the old order: difficult memories are part of Riley, too, and cannot just be erased.
Does the emotional story work?
Mostly, and this is where the sequel earns its place. The film treats anxiety not as a villain to defeat but as an impulse that can overwhelm someone when it takes over. Riley’s camp competition gives that conflict a clear, immediate setting, while her changing friendships make the stakes feel recognizably adolescent rather than abstract.
#1 Best Overall
- 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.
The emotional resolution also develops the first film’s ideas instead of merely repeating them. Joy’s instinct to protect Riley from painful experiences runs into the reality that those experiences help make her who she is. The sequel’s best insight is that growing up means learning to live with a fuller, less tidy sense of yourself.
That clarity can also simplify. In David Sims’s review for The Atlantic, he praises the film’s charm and relatability while arguing that its visual metaphors can flatten complicated ideas. That tension is real: the personified emotions make a difficult inner shift easy to follow, but sometimes turn complexity into a legible lesson before the story has fully explored it. Anxiety’s role is a fictional dramatic metaphor, not mental-health advice.
Rank #2
- Experience the emotional journey once more with "Inside Out 2" on Ultra HD!
How does it compare with the original?
The first Inside Out made its premise feel startlingly expansive. The sequel returns to a world viewers already understand, then adds new characters and regions of Riley’s mind. There is pleasure in revisiting Headquarters, but less of the sensation that the film is inventing its rules as it goes.
Jake Coyle’s Associated Press review likewise praises the film’s sensitivity to an awkward stage of life while finding its imagination less boundless than the original and its destination easier to anticipate. The sequel’s quest structure is familiar: a team is displaced, faces obstacles and works toward getting back. Its emotional argument is richer than that framework, but the framework itself rarely surprises.
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Are the new emotions and performances funny?
Yes. Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment give the familiar cast fresh comic friction, and their different temperaments help the sequel avoid feeling like a simple replay. Anxiety is especially effective because the character’s frantic efforts are both funny and understandable; the humor comes from recognizing the impulse, not from suggesting Riley’s distress is trivial.
The returning emotions remain an important counterweight. Joy’s confidence, Sadness’s perceptiveness and the others’ reactions keep the film’s ensemble lively while the story shifts attention to Riley’s new worries. The voice performances give the inner characters enough distinct personality to make their clashes entertaining, even when the plot is moving along a predictable path.
Rank #4
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How inventive is the animation and design?
The expanded cast gives the artists a practical design challenge: make each new emotion readable at a glance and distinct from the originals. Production designer Jason Deamer told D23 that the team focused on which emotions would most influence Riley at her age before settling on the four newcomers. Character art director Keiko Murayama also researched San Francisco’s demographics and cultural history to inform the human characters’ designs.
Director Kelsey Mann said the expanded aspect ratio was intended to echo Riley’s expanding world. It is a stated creative rationale, not a guarantee of a particular audience effect, but it suits a sequel interested in how a young person’s horizons and social world are changing. The film’s wider imaginative ambition remains more modest than the original’s; its strongest design choices serve character and mood rather than continually opening up surprising new possibilities.
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For readers interested in the visual development, Disney’s official roundup of Inside Out 2 books and products describes The Art of Inside Out 2 as including character designs, storyboards and color scripts.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Inside Out 2 Pixar’s best since Soul?
That depends on what “best” means. If the measure is emotional insight, character work, accessible comedy and a story that gives young viewers a way to recognize a difficult feeling, the claim is defensible: Inside Out 2 is one of Pixar’s strongest films since Soul. If the measure is formal surprise or the sheer imaginative reach of the original, it falls short.
The available reviews do not establish an industry-wide ranking. Coyle gave the film three out of four stars, praising its sensitivity while noting its more familiar trajectory; Sims found it entertaining and relatable but less successful at giving its complex ideas room to breathe. Taken together, those readings point to a sequel that is emotionally generous and skillfully performed, if less daring than its premise might promise.
Quick Recap
Key details
- Director: Kelsey Mann; Mark Nielsen produced the film, according to Disney’s UK press kit.
- Runtime and rating: 96 minutes; rated PG for some thematic elements, according to the Associated Press.
- UK cinema release: June 14, 2024, according to Disney’s press kit.
- Box office: Disney reported on July 24, 2024 that the film had reached $1.462 billion worldwide, including a $292 million global opening, and crossed $1 billion in 19 days. These are historical figures from Disney’s announcement, not a current box-office ranking.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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