When picturing a panic attack, a few images may come to mind. Perhaps an increased heart rate or shortness of breath. Well, for “Inside Out 2”’s returning protagonist, Riley, her experience with a panic attack was instead characterized by a turbulent spiral in her brain, displayed in the same coloring as the movie’s new leading emotion — otherwise known as antagonist — Anxiety.
A sequel to the 2015 film “Inside Out,” the movie follows the journey of now 13-year-old Riley as she navigates the highs and lows of what some might describe as a parent’s ultimate nightmare: puberty. Despite being an animated film, the accuracy of puberty’s impact is by no means restrained, with new characters and detailed interactions helping to amplify its effects. The movie begins with the five returning emotions that took the stage in Riley’s first story: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust.
If you watched the first film, you will probably remember Joy. To summarize, she is a yellow, azure-eyed pixie who took primary responsibility over Riley’s mind, steering watchers through a storyline of realization and growth as Riley entered a looming state of gloom when moving away from home.
Commencing the sequel in full swing, the returning five emotions are awoken to sounds of construction in headquarters — the center hub of Riley’s mind — finding themselves face-to-face with four new characters: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui. Though the new emotions were introduced with enthusiasm, I couldn’t help but feel many of their initial, eager attitudes fade too quickly. Nonetheless, it’s the orange emotion, Anxiety, and her wide, eager-to-please grin that grabs viewers’ attention.
As the nine emotions begin to familiarize themselves with each other, they seem to get along harmoniously in Riley’s mind. However, tensions arise as Riley receives an invitation from a high school hockey coach, Coach Roberts. Riley, accompanied by her two best friends, Grace and Bree, departs from the familiar comfort of her parent’s home to attend a three-day-long overnight camp. Several aspects make the camp particularly nerve-wracking; everyone else attending is in high school, and Coach Roberts will use Riley’s performance to dictate her team placement for next year — her first year of high school.
While flashbacks play, recapping viewers of the last two years of Riley’s life, we are introduced to a new addition to headquarters: Riley’s “Sense of Self.” This helps her make decisions independently based on her own morals. After each positive interaction is completed, an affirming voice echoes “I’m a good person” throughout the walls of her mind. I found this to be a reassuring addition to observe, reminding both viewers and Riley’s original five emotions alike where they left off in the last film.
Immediately upon arrival at camp, Riley is presented as an awkward, chaotic teenager. Regardless, she is still the empathetic, innocent daughter we met when she was 11. Back in Headquarters, Joy, in her typical positive manner, views the camp as a way for Riley to enjoy time with her two best friends before they go to different high schools next year. Contrarily, Anxiety considers the program an opportunity to get ahead both in the hockey world and the camp’s social scene, doing everything she can to forget parts of Riley’s identity that could be deemed uncool. Though their opinions may sound completely polarized, what captivated me most was not how different they were but how each could completely consume Riley.
At camp, Riley is immediately thrown into intense drills where her physical and mental limits are tested. Though Anxiety is quick to take absolute control over Riley, I wish we could have seen more of the other new emotions in this situation. Dominating the headquarters console, Anxiety portrays Riley in an entirely new light for both viewers and her two best friends. She even instructs the other new emotions to assist in constructing Riley’s new “Sense of Self.” As a result, “I’m not good enough” bellows throughout headquarters. Even if you do not find yourself repeating these exact words, the phrase is sure to resonate with you in some way, making the watch all the more sincere.
After Anxiety watches Joy embarrass Riley in front of the older girls with her seemingly constant positivity, she decides to banish Joy and Riley’s four other original emotions — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust — from headquarters. Although this may align with the typical storyline of an antagonist causing conflict, I surprisingly found myself taking comfort in the original characters’ reactions.
Away in the maze of the back of Riley’s mind, the five emotions are forced to deal with their situation. I hesitate to describe these characters as experiencing fierce conflict, for their tolerant, optimistic approach to their circumstances ensured me that their bond formed in the last film had not been compromised. Perhaps it was a result of a younger me, like many viewers, enjoying the original characters getting along harmoniously. It may also be the stark contrast in how they treated one another, which is so out of parallel to the new emotions, struggling to embody the spirit of a strong team. Whichever it was, it is clear that Anxiety impacted more than merely Riley’s attitude, with both new and old emotions feeling her powerful presence.
What makes Anxiety’s impact most compelling is how viewers experience her effects in real time with Riley. Upon first introduction, Anxiety’s focus on bringing out a better version of Riley seems to help her, making her camp experience smoother. Truthfully, I found myself rooting for Anxiety’s decisions, also wanting to support Riley in the best ways possible. Later, as we watched Anxiety’s presence overpower the console, we then experienced how her dominance could, in turn, be detrimental. Viewers are able to resonate with Riley’s anxiety, allowing them to not only learn about the emotion’s effects but also experience its outcomes.
Delving further into the storyline, I recognized we had not seen much of the other new emotions channeled through Riley. Rather, they were simply characters in her head. Not delving into the influences of these emotions was certainly a missed opportunity, especially considering Riley’s age being the exact time when those emotions would be amplified.
It was not until the last day of camp that Riley was plunged into a final test of her hockey ability and personal morals, causing her to embark on a mission to score two goals in a match, believing it would secure her a spot on next year’s team. Riley is prompted by Anxiety to leave the final parts of her past self behind, causing her to spiral and allowing Anxiety to ignore all ramifications of forgetting what it means to feel at all, also teaching her and viewers the importance of not letting pressure get the best of you.
As the movie concluded, having finished something considerably different from what I had anticipated based on the previous film, I quickly deemed the movie a necessary production. “Inside Out 2” casts Riley and her emotions in a vulnerable light, serving as an important reminder of how letting our emotions get the best of us can affect not just our thoughts but our entire being. Though “Inside Out 2” may provide a distinguishably different storyline from the last film, the movie is undoubtedly a must-watch for those looking for an honest, somewhat eye-opening check-in on the girl they watched on screen nearly a decade ago.
