Rating: Overflowing

Genre: Animation, Family, Coming of Age, Comedy, Fantasy

Studios: Disney/Pixar

Cast: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Adele Exarchopoulos, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paul Walter Hauser and Yvette Nicole Brown

Director: Kelsey Mann

Writers: Dave Holstein, Meg LeFauve and Kelsey Mann

Producer: Mark Nielsen

Music by: Andrea Datzman

Rated: PG for thematic elements

Release Date: 06/10/24

Runtime: 1h 36m

Tagline: Make room for new emotions

Favorite Character: Joy

Quote: “Maybe this is what happens when you grow up. You feel less joy.”- Joy

Fun Fact: Sadness’ voice actress Phillis Smith came out of retirement to reprise her role and has to record her lines in Missouri

The Review: For the last few years, Pixar has been coming down with more of the downs than ups with few of their amazing films (Luca, Soul and Turning Red) skipping theaters and heading straight to Disney Plus, which I really get annoyed with that crap. And those who did make it to the big screen (Lightyear and Elemental) ended up with the struggles with both box office numbers and critics.

Thankfully, Inside Out 2 made a theatrical release Pixar movie comeback in a spectacular way we wanted to be. Yes it is a sequel. And the last time Pixar got one was the very much unneeded Toy Story 4. But this one was the one we pretty much needed as there are so many potential stages like Riley in college, Riley becoming a mom and perhaps in the future, Riley becoming a grandma!

Looking back to the first Inside Out movie, we all have been wondering how our mind works. Maybe we have workers inside our brains? Who knows? Props to Pete Doctor for his creativity of turning the brain anatomy into a corporation that’s themed to Pee Wee’s Playhouse. In other words, a silly cartoon world that delights both the kiddies and adults.

By the end of the 2015 film, the control panel was officially being upgraded by Pixar’s lucky charm John Ratzenberger (who he comes back to the sequel) that comes with puberty alarm, as Joy (Amy Poehler) quotes ‘It’s probably not important’ but we all knew it is extremely important. Being key to having a sequel created and all. So yes Joy, the Puberty alarm IS important.

Well unsurprisingly, it went off and the control panal being upgraded again. Joy tries to get rid of it with a new machine that launches bad memories far away. That didn’t work. With all of the chaos happening, four new emotions (five if you are counting June Squibb’s Nostalgia) suddenly arrives at the headquarters.

Those four we meet are a adorable little Envy (Ayo Edebiri), an emo Ennui (French actress Adele Exarchopoulos) that rather stares at the phone than do her job, a huge but very shy Embarrassment (Paul Water Hauser) and the one that shines out the most, a Pepe (of the Muppets) look alike Anxiety (Maya Hawke).

At first, the 5 OG emotions seem to be pretty welcoming and accepts these new workers, but all four of the newbies (mostly Anxiety) made it clear that Riley needs to fit in with popular crowd at Hockey Camp and believes the main emotions are not needed anymore. So the main 5 are locked in the jar and were sent on a one way trip to Riley’s memory vault.

And with that, begins Joy and Sadness’s adventure back to the HQ once again, but this time, Anger, Fear and Disgust joining the fun. But before that happens, we do get to see a PS2 animated Lance Slashblade that Riley (and Disgust) has a crush on drop by for a rescue along with Riley’s childhood icon Bloofy, a doggy version of Dora the Explorer. Carrying a talking Pouch named, well, Pouchy that has mostly dynamite inside of him, sounds like he could be one of the rejected characters from Looney Tunes.

But if you want to know what’s going on outside in the real world, Riley Anderson ( is a 13 year old from Minnesota (My homestate) now living in San Francisco with her parents, with her two best friends, and continuing to score in big in the Foghorns hockey team, and everything was going pretty smoothly, for now.

Things are looking up for her when she and her friends are invited to Hockey camp by the coach (Yvette Nicole Brown) to have a chance to be on the High School Hockey League. There is just one catch though, Riley will not be going to the same school as her friends, well, you can imagine where that teenage drama is going to be from. If not, see the movie yourself.

Just like the first film, Inside Out 2 is full of imagination and contains rich storytelling that would bring joy and laughter to all audiences, whether it is a five year old going to his first movie or a grandpa killing some time before his grandkids comes. And has so much brilliant ideas that can be expanded for the franchise.

But this whole Inside Out thing makes me wonder. If it is a real deal, who knows how many emotions are in our headquarters? Like 50? If so, maybe Pixar could have try to make room for a cute lovable emotion called ‘Love’ in the movie?