Let’s talk about Inside Out 2

I watched Inside Out 2 with my girls recently, and it was an interesting experience. My older daughter, 16, enjoyed it but said it was ‘totally unrealistic’. Which is funny, considering I’ve witnessed all the drama and angst that two teenage girls can generate (three, if you include my niece). Anyway, I really liked Inside Out 2, even if I’d place it a level below the first one.

Riley’s panic attack, though. I felt that deep inside, I was doing fine throughout the movie, but that scene brought out some unexpected tears. The build up throughout the movie felt so real – just little things at first, but the way they combined to push out the other emotions resonated. Been there, felt that.

Maybe this is what happens when you grow up. You feel less joy.

-Joy

It all culminates in a big mistake during a hockey game. Anxiety-led Riley is convinced that her whole life, her future, depends on doing well during this scrimmage at hockey camp. She wants on the team with all the cool girls she met, but in trying to show off and dominate the game, she injures one of her friends from home. She’s left to sit alone with her thoughts in the penalty box, and that’s when she starts to truly spiral. Literally, Anxiety spins out of control at Riley’s console, creating a whirlwind that pushes all the other emotions away. In real life, we see Riley feel the physical chest pain so many of us who deal with anxious feelings have felt. It’s this anguish and pain that affected me as I watched.

In the end, Riley is able to come to terms with everything that she did. Her friends forgive her, and they tearfully reunite. Internally, Joy and the other emotions are able to soothe Anxiety and stop the spiral. Riley chooses joy, and in doing so is able to create a new, more complex equilibrium between all of her emotions. She regains a sense of self that integrates who she was before and includes more nuanced feelings.

Inside Out 2 is a solid follow up to one of Pixar’s better movies. I’m glad I got to see it, and share it with my daughters. Even if they thought the stuff that happened to Riley was ‘cringe’. Teenagers!