Illustration by Kayden (@kckayden0828) and Kai Xuan (@charlottelkaix)

Inside Out, a successful animated movie released in 2015, revolves around a young Riley who has to move to a new city. This film illustrates Riley’s mind, where five emotions make decisions for her. In 2024, Disney released a trailer for the sequel, Inside Out 2. The announcement created a big buzz and was rivaled in social media. Considering that the original film was a major hit, many are speculating whether Inside Out 2 will live up to its predecessor. This time, the movie takes us into the teenage mind of Riley, where she encounters five new emotions as she navigates her sense of self and her peers.

The plot follows Riley as she enrolls in hockey camp tryouts with her close friends, Bree and Grace. During the car ride, her friends reveal that they will not be attending the same high school as Riley when school reopens. Riley is unhappy about being alone in high school. Things get more complicated when Riley has to choose between hanging out with the cool kids from the school’s hockey team or with her close friends. During this time, new emotions—Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui, Envy, and Nostalgia—show up in Riley’s mind. The newcomers struggle to work with Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust which drives Anxiety to kick them out of the headquarters. With Anxiety in charge, Riley starts to lose her sense of self. It’s up to Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust to return to the headquarters to restore Riley’s sense of self.

The writers did an excellent job illustrating what anxiety and overthinking feel like. Since high school is an important stage in our lives, Inside Out 2 shows how sometimes the decisions we make go against our true selves as we succumb to peer pressure. Teenagers go through a point in their lives where they have to make difficult choices that challenge their own values. Anxiety often leads to overthinking and sleeplessness which could lead to negative consequences. The movie depicts how anxiety can escalate into panic attacks, helping the audience understand better how and why panic attacks occur. Inside Out 2 creatively addresses the issue of bottling up emotions. It shows that bottling up our emotions and choosing to focus only on positive emotions can lead to further despair. Not only that, the movie highlights the importance of having a supportive circle of friends and close ones. Riley experiences social anxiety as well as a panic attack but overcomes them with the help of her close friends. Inside Out 2 helps younger audiences understand the importance of emotion regulation, emotional maturity, and their circle of friends. 

Personally, the movie did a great job making a successful sequel to Inside Out. At first, the trailer did not seem promising and I could safely say that it did not do justice for the movie. However, Inside Out 2 exceeded my expectations and was indeed better than I could have predicted as it was relatable. There are times that my anxiety and overthinking lead me down a rabbit hole, resulting in sleepless nights. Sometimes, I suffer from panic attacks and find it hard to describe what they feel like or how they happen. The film’s writers did an excellent job of showing how excessive anxiety can lead to panic attacks. Moreover, they effectively conveyed that negative emotions are a part of who we are and should not be neglected, but embraced. Inside Out 2 took a different approach from its predecessor, where Sadness was viewed as a negative emotion that Riley had to learn to embrace. Instead, Inside Out 2 showed how different emotions can work alongside one another—even if they may not be positive, it is who we are. Overall, the directors and writers did a stellar job illustrating the real-life challenge of battling our complex emotions in a creative way for the audience. 

In conclusion, Inside Out 2 was a clever, creative, and touching sequel that lived up to the original. It reminds us that we are indeed flawed, and both the good and bad parts of our lives make us who we are today. The movie taught me that anxiety should not be the captain of my ship. Instead, I should learn how to navigate the storms with it and try to live life the best I can. “Joy, you’ve made a lot of mistakes, and you’ll make a whole lot more in the future. But if you let that stop you, we might as well lie down and give up.” - Anger