Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2 is a 2024 American animated coming-of-age film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to Inside Out (2015), it was directed by Kelsey Mann (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Mark Nielsen, from a screenplay written by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, and a story conceived by Mann and LeFauve. Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan reprise their roles from the first film, with Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Paul Walter Hauser joining the cast. The film tells the story of Riley's emotions as they find themselves joined by new emotions that want to take over Riley's head.

First announced in September 2022 during the D23 Expo, Inside Out 2 features Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter's "five to 27 emotions" idea from the first film that Mann pitched during its production to utilize "truthful" worldbuilding. Like its predecessor, the production team consulted psychologists to accurately portray how teenagers' emotions change during puberty, while also enlisting a group of teenagers to accurately portray modern teenage life.

Inside Out 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on June 10, 2024, and was released in theaters in the United States on June 14. The film received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $1.443 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2024. It had the third-biggest domestic opening weekend for an animated film and became the fastest animated film to cross the $1 billion mark, alongside being the third highest-grossing animated film of all-time, the 15th highest-grossing film of all-time, and the highest-grossing Pixar film in history.

Plot
Two years after her move to San Francisco, 14-year-old Riley Andersen is entering high school. Her personified emotions — Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger — now oversee a newly formed element of Riley's mind called her "Sense of Self", which houses memories and feelings that shape Riley's beliefs. Joy, aiming to fill the Sense of Self with only positive memories, has created a mechanism that launches negative memories to the back of Riley's mind.

Riley and her best friends, Bree and Grace, are invited to a weekend ice hockey camp where Riley hopes to qualify for her school's team, the Firehawks. However, a "Puberty Alarm" goes off the night before camp, and a group of mind workers clumsily upgrade the emotion console, leaving Headquarters in disarray.

The emotions find that Riley now overreacts to any inputs they make to the console. Four new emotions — Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui — arrive and clash with the original emotions over their approaches. In particular, Joy wants Riley to have fun at camp, while Anxiety focuses on winning a spot on the team and making new friends, especially after Riley learns that Bree and Grace will be attending a different high school.

While Joy is in control, Riley inadvertently gets the campers punished by the strict camp director, Coach Roberts. Anxiety, deciding that Riley needs to change to fit in with the older players, launches the Sense of Self to the back of Riley's mind and has Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust captured and thrown into a memory vault. Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment then create a new anxiety-dominated Sense of Self and encourage Riley to befriend popular hockey player Val Ortiz, straining her friendship with Bree and Grace. Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust escape the vault; Sadness returns to Headquarters while the others go to retrieve Riley's old Sense of Self.

Under Anxiety's control, Riley sneaks into Coach Roberts' office and learns from her notebook that Riley is not considered ready to become a Firehawk. The old emotions find the old Sense of Self on a mountain of negative memories deposited by Joy's mechanism. They cause an avalanche to return them to Headquarters, but this causes the negative memories to spill into Riley's current Sense of Self. Anxiety realizes that the Sense of Self she has created for Riley is one of self-doubt, which causes Riley to perform poorly during her final tryout match, accidentally hurt Grace, and get sent to the penalty box. Horrified, Anxiety frantically swarms the console in a blinding whirlwind, causing Riley to suffer from a severe panic attack.

With the help of Sadness and a reformed Embarrassment, the other original emotions return to Headquarters. Joy finds Anxiety still in control but in paralysis; Joy convinces Anxiety that Riley does not need to change to have a better future. Anxiety relents and Joy reinstates Riley's original Sense of Self, but the panic attack persists. After the repentant Anxiety admits that she cannot determine who Riley is, Joy realizes that the same applies to her. Joy removes the first Sense of Self and allows a new one to form from Riley's positive and negative memories. The emotions embrace this third Sense of Self, calming Riley and helping her reconcile with Bree and Grace. The console calls for Joy, who takes command and helps Riley happily finish the hockey tryouts.

Riley befriends Val and the other Firehawks at high school while staying true to herself and maintaining her friendship with Bree and Grace. Living in peace, the original and new emotions work together to protect Riley, who checks her phone for the Firehawks' recruitment results and looks at herself in the mirror with a proud smile.

In a post-credits scene, Joy frees Riley's Deep Dark Secret, which is revealed to be Riley burning a hole in the rug, from The Vault, but he quickly shuts himself back in.

Voice cast
Additionally, television personality Sam Thompson cameos in the UK version of the film as Security Man Sam, a character who finds himself on a chase with the emotions.

Development
After the success of Inside Out, the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2015, Entertainment Tonight and The Guardian considered a sequel to be "inevitable". Inside Out director Pete Docter was germinating ideas for a sequel while the original film's nominations were unveiled at the 88th Academy Awards in January 2016. Development on the story began in early 2020 and Pixar officially confirmed the sequel's development during the D23 Expo announcement in September 2022, with Amy Poehler coming on stage to discuss the film alongside Docter. Kelsey Mann was announced as the director of the sequel (making it his feature directorial debut), with Mark Nielsen producing, while Meg LeFauve was announced to write the film's screenplay, returning from its predecessor.

To utilize "truthful" worldbuilding, Mann used Docter's "five to 27 emotions" idea from the first film that he pitched during its production. Mann's first pass included nine new emotions to make Joy feel overwhelmed with all the new emotions showing up, but felt that the story could not keep track with so many emotions taking the spotlight or not adding to the story, so after the first screening, he decided to simplify the number. Among those emotions was Schadenfreude (having joy at someone's expense), Jealousy and Guilt, but the latter two influenced the film despite being removed, with Mann feeling that Envy could relate to Jealousy and how remnants of Guilt could be found within Anxiety's introduction, even giving Anxiety some of Guilt's baggage, which was inspired by that of Disneyland hotels.

Research and writing
The production team frequently consulted author and clinical psychologist Lisa Damour and used her books as guidance on accurately portraying how teenagers' emotions change during puberty. Professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, Dacher Keltner, who helped on the first Inside Out, returned as a consultant as well. Keltner played a key role in selecting which emotions should be introduced in the story. A character based on the emotion of shame was intended to be a part of the film but was axed, in part due to Keltner contesting that shame was not an emotion.

To assist with the development of the film, Pixar enlisted a group of nine teenagers, who were dubbed "Riley's Crew", to provide feedback on the film to ensure it accurately portrayed modern teenage life. Their input led to the inclusion of the emotion Nostalgia and influenced various scenes, including everyday elements of the emotions' lives and the transition from middle school to high school. Nielsen and Mann were also inspired by their own daughters when crafting the film. As development on the story began during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two were able to gather personal research from studying their children, some of whom were Riley's age in the film. Their perspective as parents helped in shaping the film and characterizing the emotions, especially Joy.

Initially, the plot of the film was to involve a talent show, but that idea ended up being scrapped. After about three test screenings, Nielsen, Mann, and LeFauve decided it was best to center the story on Riley playing hockey, as they felt it was a unique aspect of her character. The decision was also influenced by input Mann received from Turning Red director Domee Shi when he asked how to make the film unique from other teenage coming-of-age stories, including her own. The scene where the old emotions are locked in a vault was originally longer but was trimmed down as several gags were cut out due to time constraints.

Casting
Poehler accepted an offer of $5million with lucrative bonuses to reprise her role as Joy from the first film. Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black also reprise their roles from the first film, voicing Sadness and Anger, respectively. Following a dispute over pay, both Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling declined to reprise their respective roles as Fear and Disgust; they and the rest of the returning cast were reportedly offered $100,000 each, equivalent to two percent of Poehler's salary. On November 9, 2023, with the release of the teaser trailer, it was revealed that Tony Hale and Liza Lapira would replace Hader and Kaling as Fear and Disgust, respectively, while Maya Hawke joined the cast as Anxiety, a new emotion. Mann auditioned Hawke via Zoom at the office of a back room in Epcot during a family vacation with his kids after Nielsen told him that Hawke was available to audition just then, with her anxious performance driving him to tears. On January 16, 2024, it was revealed that June Squibb had joined the cast in an undisclosed role, later revealed to be Nostalgia.

On March 7, 2024, Disney revealed that Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, Kensington Tallman, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan joined the cast, with Edebiri, Exarchopoulos, and Hauser playing the other new emotions, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment, respectively. In addition, Tallman replaces Kaitlyn Dias as Riley Andersen, while Lane reprises her role as Mrs. Andersen, and MacLachlan also reprises his role as Mr. Andersen. John Ratzenberger reprises his role as Fritz, marking his first voice role in a Pixar film since Onward. Also joining the cast in supporting roles are Lilimar, who plays a hockey player named Valentina, and Yvette Nicole Brown, who plays the coach of the hockey team, while Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green and Grace Lu play Bree and Grace, Riley's friends.

Music
On March 7, 2024, with the release of the second trailer, it was reported that Andrea Datzman had composed the film's score, taking over for Michael Giacchino. This made Datzman the first woman to score a Pixar feature film. The soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on June 14, 2024, the same day as the film.

Release
Inside Out 2 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on June 10, 2024, and was released in theaters in the United States on June 14, 2024. It also screened at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival that same day. The film was screened in various formats, including RealD 3D, IMAX and Dolby Cinema.

Marketing
The teaser trailer for the film, along with the poster, was released on November 9, 2023. James Withbrook of Gizmodo and Inverse Rotem Rusak highlighted the introduction of three other emotions in the poster: Embarrassment, Ennui, and Envy. The teaser was viewed over 157 million times in the first 24 hours across all social media platforms—including over 78 million from TikTok—becoming the most-watched animated film trailer launch in the Walt Disney Company's history, surpassing the previous record holder, Frozen II (2019). A clip from the film was also aired during the Super Bowl LVIII, named "Team". The second trailer, along with a new poster, was released on March 7, 2024. This trailer also marked the debut of the "standard" variant of the 2023 Walt Disney Pictures logo, which was introduced the year before for the studio's centennial anniversary. The first 35 minutes of the film were screened during the Walt Disney Studios' presentation of first looks at their 2024 theatrical release slate at CinemaCon on April 11, 2024. As part of a partnership with Airbnb, a new rental home in Nevada just outside of Las Vegas modeled after "headquarters" in the film was listed on the website beginning June 12, 2024.

Box office
, Inside Out 2 has grossed $596.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $846.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.443 billion.

On a budget of $200 million, Inside Out 2 was initially projected to gross $80–90 million in its domestic opening weekend. The sub-$100 million industry projections were partially due to the notion that general audiences remained hesitant to return to theaters, given the direct-to-streaming releases of the Pixar films Soul (2020), Luca (2021), and Turning Red (2022) on Disney+, the underperformance of Pixar's Lightyear at the box office in 2022, and the lackluster box office results of several films in 2024. After making $63.6 million on its first day, including an estimated $13 million from Thursday night previews, projections were raised to $140–150 million for the weekend. It ended up grossing $154.2 million domestically from 4,440 theaters and an estimated $140 million from 38 international markets, for a worldwide debut of $294.2 million, the highest in Pixar history.

In the United States and Canada, the $154.2 million opening weekend was the best of 2024, surpassing Dune: Part Two ($82.5 million) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire ($80 million) to become the first film of the year to open above $100 million, and the third-best for an animated film behind Pixar's own Incredibles 2 (2018; $182.7 million) and Disney's The Lion King (2019; $191.7 million). It was also the fourth-best opening for a PG film after The Lion King, Incredibles 2, and Beauty and the Beast ($174 million). With an average ticket price of $12.53 overall and $10.36 for children, twelve million moviegoers saw the film in its first weekend, nearing the thirteen million admissions for Barbie (2023) in its first three days. It played strongly throughout the day (22% of viewers attended before 1pm, 35% between 1pm and 5pm, 26% between 5pm and 8pm, and 17% after 8pm), benefiting from substantial walk-up business credited to its multi-cultural pull (of the opening weekend audience, 36% identified as Hispanic and Latino). IMAX and Premium Large Formats (PLFs) accounted for 43% of the earnings, while 14% came from 3D showings. The film found momentum during the weekday, bringing its seven-day total to $255.2 million and reaching multiple box-office milestones, including the second highest-grossing first Monday for a Pixar film (at $22.4 million), the highest-grossing first Tuesday for an animated film (at $28.8 million),  the third highest non-opening Wednesday after Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015; $38 million) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019; $32.2 million) that doubled as a record for the Juneteenth federal holiday since it began in 2021 (at $30.1 million),  and the highest-grossing first Thursday for a Pixar film (at $19.6 million).

The film made $101.2 million in its second weekend, a mere 34.4% drop to become the most profitable second weekend for an animated film, topping the $92.3 million earned by The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), and the seventh-best second weekend overall. Deadline Hollywood's Anthony D'Alessandro attributed the feat to heat waves and rainstorms prompting people to visit air-conditioned theaters. During its third weekend, it beat newcomer A Quiet Place: Day One to remain at the top of the box office with $57.5 million. On the Fourth of July, it crossed $500 million domestically, and during its fourth weekend, the film made $30.3 million, finishing in second behind Despicable Me 4.

Worldwide, the film surpassed the gross of its predecessor ($859 million) on June 27, 2024, after sixteen days of release. On June 30, the film crossed the $1 billion threshold, being the first Disney animated film to do so since Frozen II in 2019. From this, Inside Out 2 became the animated film to cross $1 billion the fastest, doing so in 19 days and beating out The Lion King (21 days). On July 10, the film surpassed the global box office of Incredibles 2 ($1.242 billion) to become the highest-grossing Pixar film. The film broke various international box office records in Latin America, being the "top movie of all time in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay", according to the Los Angeles Times.

Critical response
The film received positive reviews. According to Animation Magazine, most critics praised its color palette, storyline, and the introduction of new emotions, but some expressed dissatisfaction with the predictability of the external plot related to Riley's acceptance by her new hockey team. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale (the same as the first film), while those surveyed by PostTrak gave the film an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars, with 71% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Moira Macdonald of The Seattle Times awarded the film $3 1/2$ stars out of four, commending the voice cast and the film as "a happy head trip, for any age". Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film four stars out of five, praising the animation, metaphors, and wit while saying "the cast-iron ontological brilliance of Docter's original premise bears expansion well". Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised Hawke's performance as Anxiety and the film's emotional impact, calling it "the most poignantly perceptive tale of the conundrums of early adolescence since Eighth Grade". David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a 'C–' rating, writing that the film "so perfectly ticks Pixar's boxes in a way that forces the sincerity of its storytelling into a losing battle with the cynicism of its existence". Manhola Dargis, in The New York Times, praised "Pixar's skill for turning ideas into images, some of which actually manage to slip past the safety of its nice worldview with shocks of the sublime." Other positive reviews were published in The Guardian, Empire, CBR, for example, while a more mixed appraisal can be found on the BBC website or in the Los Angeles Time.

"Seeing Anxiety remold Riley into a blank character as Joy and the other emotions trace through the recesses of Riley’s mind makes for a mostly satisfying structure, allowing the film to assuredly bounce through visually dazzling blitzes of color and whimsy for an intoxicating style that at once feels gentle, fun, and safely crowd-pleasing as it deals with the pressure of being a teenage girl trying to conform to the lofty standards set by other teenage girls. That doesn't mean new jokes aren't added along the way: a nightmare fueling "Blue's Clues"-inspired character, a scene in Imagination Land recalling "Nineteen Eighty-Four," and Mount Crushmore are sharp zingers. The new emotions, however, aren't as memorable as the primary characters from the prior film.", commented Robert Daniels on RogerEbert.com. Writing for The Mississippi Monitor, Bob Garver stated, "gags involve cartoon characters stuck in the back of Riley's mind. Video game character Lance (Yong Yea) is another helpful crush of Riley's, Pouchy (James Austin Johnson) is a little too happy to provide explosives, and Bloofy (Ron Funches) is a fourth-wall breaker with no fourth wall to break (you can practically hear the Disney writers saying, "Take that, Nickelodeon!"). These characters, more than the emotions, were the highlight of this passable Pixar affair."

Writing for Deadline, Diamond Wise, however, was rather negative about the film and concluded, "Battle-weary parents of surly teens will have some fun here and there, especially when Ennui’s blasé influence opens up a “sar-chasm” in Riley’s brain that makes everything sound, well, sarcastic. But, when all’s said and done, the stakes are so minor, it’s hard to imagine anyone will leave this desperate to see an Inside Out 3."