When Pixar’s Inside Out released in theaters, my kids were 8 and 5-years-old. It was a delightful movie about the rather limited—but intense—emotional landscape children (and their parents) have to navigate.
My kids are now 17 and 14 and that landscape has seen some massive changes, especially since so much has changed between 2015 and 2024. The intervening years have seen major political change, a global pandemic, big family changes at home, and of course the transformation of my beautiful little kids into, well, teenagers.
It’s pretty fitting that Pixar should come out with Inside Out 2 nine years later, and the movie hits all the right beats. As fun as it is for kids, this is a movie that will delight parents more. When Riley wakes up one morning to her first full-blown puberty-induced hormonal rage, snapping at her mom and barging out the door, we are given a glimpse of the mother’s emotions. “Well that’s a preview of the next ten years,” one emotion says to another.
I laughed out loud.
I also cried quite a bit during this movie. Then again, I’m a cryer. It doesn’t take much. Still, this is easily the best Pixar movie I’ve seen in many, many years and in some ways I think it outshines the original, if only because it tackles the far more complex emotions teenagers (and their parents) grapple with and does it so well, with verve, humor and plenty of poignant moments.
Of course, it distills “the next ten years” into just one weekend at hockey camp. The loss of a sense of self that Riley experiences, as Joy and Sadness and Disgust and Fear are replaced with Anxiety and Embarrassment and Envy and Ennui (and occasionally Nostalgia) is profound, but it’s all confined to an hour-and-a-half movie. As a parent, I know how this really plays out: Over years of angst and rebellion and lots of scary moments. Teens have to come to terms with their own changes, but parents have to also learn to change and to let go and to venture forth into uncharted territory that can be both incredibly terrifying and humbling.
Inside Out 2 does a great job at zooming into this years-long journey of self-discovery into just one difficult weekend, where friendships are tested and the awkwardness of growing up—making that leap from Middle School to High School, experiencing puberty for the first time, etc.—is on full display. It’s fitting that Anxiety plays the role as chief antagonist (but not villain) because I felt anxious the whole time, watching as Riley makes such poor choices for such relatable reasons. We are reminded how Anxiety and Embarrassment and Envy can make us act without thinking, or without regard for others, not out of cruelty but out of self-preservation.
In any case, it’s a beautifully crafted film that’s equal parts hilarious and moving. Pixar is at the top of its storytelling and animation game, and I can’t recommend this highly enough. Go see it on the biggest screen you can find.
I saw it with my 14-year-old. Now I just need to convince my 17-year-old to go with me. Teenagers. Oy vey.
