Inside Out 2 – Film Review

Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, Kensington Tallman, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan

Director: Kelsey Mann

Synopsis: As she celebrates her 13th birthday, the world inside Riley’s mind grows complicated when new emotions enter the fray…

Review: It is fitting for a studio which has a small group of creative leaders that form its Brain Trust, that over the course of its 30+ year history, Pixar has come up with some utterly ingenious and wonderfully creative concepts. Storytelling works masterfully on two levels to entertain younger audiences and massively pull on the heartstrings of older viewers with weighty and emotionally powerful themes. There’s no shortage of films in its collection to choose from which fulfil these criteria, but Inside Out is a strong contender for the studio at its brilliant best. A mixture of fear and apprehension may have risen when it was confirmed a sequel was in development. However, those fears can be put aside for Pixar has made a worthy companion to its predecessor.

One year has passed since the events of the first film, and Riley (now voiced by Kensington Tallman) has celebrated her 13^th birthday and is about to start high school. Her existing emotions, Joy (Poehler), Sadness (Smith), Anger (Black), Fear (Hale) and Disgust (Lapira) have worked collaboratively on a new core component of her mind which establishes memories and feelings which make up Riley’s personality. However, as Riley sets off on an exciting summer venture to win a place on her school’s ice hockey team, she begins to go through puberty. As a result, a range of new emotions arrives at headquarters: Anxiety (Hawke), Envy (Edibiri), Ennui (Exarchopoulos) and Embarrassment (Hauser). The new emotions immediately take over the console upon arrival and run amok, leaving her childhood emotions in a quandary as to how they can prevent the new emotions from causing complete and total chaos inside Riley’s mind.

The word ‘genius’ is thrown around quite a bit in modern discourse, but if ever there was an apt descriptor of the premise of Inside Out, it would be exactly that. An ingenious piece of storytelling to picture what goes on in the endless complexities that make up the human brain, and the emotions we feel as we grow up and experience exciting but also nerve-wracking new life events and experiences. Of all the big new experiences that life throws at us, there is perhaps none bigger than puberty. An exciting but also scary time where our emotions can run amok as our bodies change and returning writer Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein’s screenplay builds on the wonderfully inventive world created by Pete Docter as how emotions develop and become increasingly complex as we get older and the perils of growing up, making this very much the spiritual sister to Turning Red, minus the red pandas, of course.

The screenplay, from a story by LeFauve and director Mann, cleverly utilises its predecessor’s ingenious train of thought and brilliant imagination to depict and visualise not only the mind and how it develops as we progress from childhood into adolescence. Picking up exactly where that train of thought left off, though instead of hilarious jokes about abstract thought, the film cleverly depicts concepts of the mind, only this time as brainstorms and one of the most effective weapons a teenager has at their disposal to navigate everything life has to throw at them, sarcasm. Because, well as anyone who has been a teenager and gone through puberty will know, it’s a tricky time when emotions are running rampant.

Speaking of those emotions, while all the returning emotions are once again delightful, the majority of them are relegated to bit-part roles. Though as she did in the first film, Poehler shines the brightest as Joy. With such endless positivity and happiness, it is impossible to not love her even in the face of trying circumstances, as the new emotions barge in and take control of Headquarters. Exarchopoulos is perfectly blasé and deadpan as Ennui while Edibiri is delightful as the small but very excitable Envy. However, the star of the show is unquestionably Maya Hawke as Anxiety. Those teenage years are a period in which anxiety can often go into overdrive, particularly in social situations. Hawke manifests this perfectly, as despite the best of intentions, she takes control of HQ and things quickly spiral out of control in Riley’s mind all while filling her with thoughts of apprehension that she may not have what it takes to fulfil her dreams of success when it comes to ice hockey. Anyone who has had self-doubt or anxiety about anything thing in their life can probably relate.

It may lack the emotional gut punch of its predecessor, with no moment that will leave audiences sobbing or put them through a mini existential crisis. Yet, it retains that wonderful inventiveness and humour which made the first film one of the studio’s most revered films in its distinguished filmography. Pixar might have had some wobbles in recent years, but its creative spark remains as strong as ever.

Retaining the ingenuity of its predecessor, Pixar has once again crafted another wonderfully imaginative sequel exploring the heightened emotions and perils of those turbulent teenage years.

Inside Out – Film Review

Cast: Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan.

Director: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen

Synopsis: As a young girl is uprooted from Minnesota to San Francisco, her emotions, Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness all battle to try to keep her emotions in check

Review: ‘Do you ever look at someone and wonder “What is going on inside their head?”‘ asks a voice not long into the beginning of Pixar’s latest adventure. A question that many will have thought at some point in their lives when talking to friends or family if they’re doing something idiotic or daft. The human brain is a vast and complicated organ that makes us who we are. Throughout our own lives, we all go through different emotions, some we sometimes cannot explain. Yet rarely, if ever, has a film gone deep into the minds of someone and try to understand the maze that is the human brain. It’s little wonder that Pete Docter is one of the founding members of the Pixar Brain Trust, a group that has all powerful control of the slated movies in production, because this latest flick from Pixar is nothing short of absolute genius.

The story focuses on that of 11 year old Riley, and the horror she goes through when her father gets a new job that forces the family to uproot for their cosy Minnesota abode to the uncomfortable new life in San Francisco. Her mind goes into overdrive and it falls to her five chief emotions: Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness to keep the ship that is Riley’s mind steady through this frightening storm. The emotions keep things in order in their shiny futuristic headquarters that have all of Riley’s stored memories that are represented by five islands that represent the key things that Riley holds dear in life. However when disaster strikes, and the emotions are separated in the maze of Riley’s mind, the emotions are in a race against time to sort everything out and make things right.

Pixar for many years has been the champion almost of witty, clever and just downright awesome animations in the last decade or two. You look back to the likes of the original Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo among others. Stories that hit adults as well as kids in incredible ways that everyone in the family can enjoy, and they have come up trumps yet again with their latest creation. Emotions are what makes us all human, we all go through difficult or testing scenarios in our lives and our emotions can sometimes overpower us, or keep us in check. Thus everyone who watches this movie can relate to it, as everyone has had deep emotions about something, or someone. The concept behind how the emotions and memories work is absolutely superb in its originality and innovation, and what is also superb is the voice work. Leading the way is Amy Poheler as Joy, the lead emotion in Riley’s mind who fights to prevent the other emotions from taking control, Lewis Black brilliantly portrays Anger, Mindy Kaling is Disgust, Bill Hader as Fear and Phyllis Smith as Sadness who is starting to gain prominence as events in Riley’s life start taking turns for the worse, and the emotions are all battling for control of Riley’s mind. The voice work from everyone is outstanding, but by far the leading light (literally) is Joy who has been the mainstay emotion of Riley’s life and the one who keeps things ticking.

The movie could get very lost in the maze that represents Riley’s mind, but at its heart is a very simple story of the human brain and all of the emotions that go with it, and the power that those emotions can have. It is a very simple story that will make you laugh and cry in equal measure. The animation is pristine and top quality, as is the norm with Pixar. The studio has triumphed many times down the years and has an almost flawless track record, and this is an excellent addition to that roster of top quality animations that the studio has produced. Do not be surprised this bagging Pete Docter another Oscar and Ronaldo Del Carmen his first when next year’s Oscars roll around because the rest of the animated movies this year will need to produce something truly special to top Inside Out.

Original, clever, emotive and an insightful adventure into the workings of the human brain. A movie that will touch the hearts of everyone who sees it.