Inside Out 2 (2024)

Inside-Out-2-(2024)
Inside Out 2 (2024)

My children were 8 and 5 years old when the movie Inside Out was launched in theaters and in this movie I liked the fact that it talked about how narrow but rather strong the emotional spectrum of children (and their parents) is.

Now, my children are 17 and 14 years of age and I have to say that the times have changed considerably, particularly given everything else that has happened in the period of 2015-2024. The intervening years have witnessed dramatic shift in political landscape, a pandemic, dramatic changes in families at home, and of course the evolution of my kids from beautiful little kids into wait for it teenagers.

Nine years would be the appropriate amount of time for Pixar to bring out Inside Out 2, and the film manages to get it right in all aspects. As enjoyable as it is for young children, it is likely that it is the parents who will appreciate this most of all. When Riley gets up for the first time and has her legitimate almost furiously hormonal outburst as a teenager and kicks off her mother, slamming the door, it is her emotions that covers the rest of the mother. So this is a glimpse of what the next 10 years will be like, one emotion says in response to another.

The fact that I also shed some tears in the course of watching this movie is nothing unusual. I do this repeatedly, I am a cryer, and it does not take much. But even so, this movie is in many ways the best Pixar movie in my mind in some years, and in other aspects even though I hate to say it, this movie does it better than the first because it shows how much more complicated it is for the teenagers (and the parents) to deal with and depicts it so well, with style funny bits, and some sad ones as well, to add the icing on top of the cake.

But of course, it condenses the phrase the next ten years into just a hockey camp weekend. It is painful to experience the loss of self that Riley has to feel while Anxiety and Embarrassment and Envy and Ennui (and occasionally Nostalgia) take the spot of Joy and Sadness and Disgust and Fear, but when you consider it this all happens in a one hour and a half movie which is really astonishing. As a parent, it’s not something I have to guess many years. Of angst and rebellion and a lot of fear invoking moments. Teenagers have to accept changes in themselves, but parents too must change and come to terms with the changes. They must also be ready to embrace new challenges and unfamiliar places which may be frightening and rather humbling.

Inside Out 2 skillfully encapsulates this long odyssey of self discovery into a single tough weekend that has elements of drama such as challenges in friendships and the incessant discomfort of adolescence and transitioning from middle school to high school and the whole new experience of puberty. It makes sense for Anxiety to be the primary antagonist (but not villainous) role in the narrative as I was quite anxious throughout the experience of watching Riley’s terrible decisions for totally sane reasons. We remember how Anxiety and Embarrassment as well as Envy drive us to actions which are sometimes uncalled for and completely devoid of thoughts directed towards others but rather for oneself.

Be that as it may, it is an effectively made film that is hilarious as well as touching at the same time quite a rare combination. In terms of storytelling and animation, Pixar is clearly remarkable and I can’t recommend this highly enough. Go watch it on the largest screen you come across.

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