Inside Out 2-A Satsfyfing Follow-Up

Inside Out 2 is a satisfying follow-up to the first movie. Like all good sequels, there's an inherent charm to stepping back into the world and characters from its predecessor. The film also features some pretty imaginative new ideas, from Riley's sense of self being a tree sprouted by different memories to hidden away mental ideas being represented by a bank vault, to the mind workers creating different possibilities for Riley like they're cartoonists. The new emotions are pretty entertaining, and I think the film gives them all an admirable amount of time to shine. 

Inside Out 2 also features a far more comedic tone than the original, with the film leaning far more into cartoonish slapstick, visual gags, and comedic banter. Those elements were in the original, but in Inside Out 2, it feels like a far more overt part of the film's tone. This new tone makes the movie more refreshing, allowing it to stand out from the original while leading to some hilarious moments. 

I also think thematically, the film feels like a satisfying extension of the original. Where the original Inside Out was about learning to balance your emotions, Inside Out 2 is a film about self-acceptance and not letting your emotions dictate who you are. Inside Out 2 is also a film about dealing with anxiety, and as someone who struggles with anxiety every day, I found the film's representation pretty spot-on. The way the film anxiety drives her actions around the dozen upon dozens of possibilities for Riley, to even the way she gives Riley sudden bursts of energy, I found pretty accurate. It makes for a film that captures the mind of a teenager just as imaginatively as the original did when capturing a child's mind. 

As much as I admired Inside Out 2 as a continuation of the original, it has a few caveats. Despite having a similar runtime to the original, Inside Out two moves at a far faster pace. The film constantly moves from one moment to the next at a breakneck pace, with few moments to slow down and breathe. What made the original Inside Out's pacing work so well is despite its short runtime, it had a lot of moments to let the viewer sit and breathe with these characters, such as the scene of Joy skating around the control room while watching a memory of Riley ice skating. Inside Out 2, by comparison, doesn't have any more relaxed scenes such as that to give its story breathing room, leading to a somewhat overwhelming fast pace. 

The film's script also feels much more unsubtle than the original. Now, the original didn't have the most subtle writing in the world. However, Inside Out 2 has many jarring moments of characters merely spelling out their problems and stating the message in such an on-the-nose way that admittedly was there in the original, didn't feel as overt. 

I find Inside Out 2 much more flawed than its predecessor. The script seems more unsubtle, and its pacing is much more overwhelming. But its characters are still endearing, and I love all the new emotions. And in general, the film is just as imaginative as its predecessor, and its message feels like a solid extension of the original, leading to a very moving conclusion.

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