Inside Out 2 Review!

Inside Out 2 now focuses on Riley as a teenager and new Emotions complicate her life and is funny all the way! Inside Out (2015) was brilliant, a complex expression of the emotions of Riley, age 11, moved with her family to San Francisco and this gives a peek into her Emotion Headquarters. The film was also sophisticated introducing different art styles like abstract art and deconstructionalism. Inside Out 2 does cover new, clever mental territory, but is more of an adventure. Riley is now a teenager with all of the riot of emotions of that age! 

Kelsey Mann is the new director and co-writer who worked on Onward (2020) as the story supervisor. The other writers are Meg LeFauvre, co-screenwriter of Inside Out, and Dave Holstein, the co-creator and writer of the series, Kidding. We hear some gentle piano keys which quickly turns to guitar rocking out! The music is by Andrea Datzman who was score coordinator for the first movie and composed the Pixar short, Carl’s Date (2023) and series, Dug Days (2021). At a hockey rink, Riley (Kinstington Tallman) is getting ready for the game, Tallman also stars in this year’s comedy film, Summer Camp. 

Inside motion Headquarters, we see Joy (Amy Poehler) excited for her cheering, “Let’s play some hockey!” Poehler returns to the part and was in the comedy film, First Time Female Director (2023). Joy introduces Riley, at age 13, playing for the Foghorns, she has Anger (Lewis Black) to score a goal. The comedian continues to be on The Daily Show and also returns to voice Anger. Then, Riley is put in the penalty box for tripping which brings Fear (Tony Hale). Previously, Hale voiced Fear in the Disney Speedstorm (2023) video game, but new for the films. Joy begins to brings up to date on Riley moving from Minnesota with her parents.  

She has braces. Riley brings a burnt dinner for her parents voiced by Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan. Both actors return to the parts. Lane plays Martha Croker in the drama, Man in Full. Hank MacLean was played by MacLachlan in the sci fi show, Fallout. Riley of course needs her mouth guard, but Disgust (Liza Lapira) notices that it is not her mouth guard! Lapira plays Mel Bayani in the action seies, The Equalizer. Then, we get the introduction of the exceptional Emotion, Sadness (Phyllis Smith). Delores in the comedy, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021) was played by Smith. She returns as Sadness. The Emotions get to show new sides outside of the Headquarters. 

Bree (Sumayyah Nurddin-Green) is making a class presentation about charity, but accidentally spills coins all over the class floor. This is a first role for Nurddin-Green. Riley goes up to help he along with Grace (Grace Lu). Missy Dalisay in the supernatural animated show, Fright Krewe, is voiced by Lu. This helps form Riley’s Core Personality bringing up a pedestal at the Headquarters, sprouting from it is a crystal formation called the Sense of Self trophy! Bree and Grace are Riley’s teammates. She skates towards the goal with the puck, but passes it back to Bree who scores the game winning point.  

After the game, their performance gets the attention of Coach Roberts (Yvette Nicole Brown) from the Fire Hawks high school team. Brown voices Mayor Gilmore in the Pupstruction Disney Junior cartoon. She offers them the chanc to go to a three days skills camp. Riley’s parents encourage her though she still worries about the penalty. Joy takes the Memory Orbs to her Riley Protection System, a tube that sends the bad memories to the Back of the Mind. Later, Riley goes to sleep so Joy collects Memory Orbs and brings Sadness down to the Belief System. It is a small island surrounded by waters with shafts of light. 

Joy strums the lights like musical strings with a pulse that races up to headquarters. She places a Memory Orb into the water that sends up a string of light. A beautiful visual; it made me think of the end of Tron (1982) with the lights from the I/O Towers.  The Emotions are in their bean-shaped bunks when an alarm beeps. Joy gets all of the Emotions over to the control panel. Riley is up and when her mother enters surprisd that she hasn't packed for camp. She is overwhelmed with Disgust using her control saying that she smells! Her Emotion controls are overreacting, a riot of emotions!  

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