On June 14, Disney and Pixar will release their highly anticipated sequel film, Inside Out 2. The sequel film will continue to follow the story of Riley — a young girl who is struggling with her own sense of identity as she enters her teenage years — and the emotions that live in her head.
In the original 2015 film, Riley was a young girl struggling with her family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco. The emotions that Riley had to deal with her Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust.
However, since Riley is now a teenager, there are A LOT more emotions taking up residence in her brain. And they are much more complicated than emotions like Joy and Sadness. Inside Out 2 will bring back all the emotions from the first movie, but also introduce Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui (a feeling of dissatisfaction).
It is exciting to think about the new emotions in Riley’s head and the chaos they appear to cause. But Inside Out 2 director Kelsey Mann recently revealed that numerous emotions were cut from the film! They were actually considering bringing in NINE new emotions. This would be a way to make Joy feel “overwhelmed.”
Related: Did You Know Disney Has Changed the Way We Speak?
Mann thought that teenage girls go through so many changes when they hit puberty, and they, like Joy, can become emotionally overwhelmed. Unfortunately, the script became overwhelming as well, so the writers had to figure out a way to simplify it. The writers were told that the emotions canceled each other out, so they had to cut some.
Mann then called in the “emotional expert” the team had used on the first film. The Berkley professor took a look at the emotions and helped them figure out which ones would work best.
And I go which ones feel right for a teenager? And he goes, he looked at the list and he’s like it’s all the ones that are the self-conscious emotions. All the ones, at this age, you start, we’re hard wired at this age to start to become really self-conscious. And in part we’re doing it because when you’re a kid, you’ve got your parents and your caregivers taking care of you. And eventually, you’re gonna have to take care of yourself. And that’s why we’re hard wired to like push our parents and our caregivers away is so that we can become independent people that can take care of ourselves.
And so that’s why you worry so much about what you all are thinking of me. How do I fit in? Do you like me? You know, it’s all about fitting in at that age. And it’s part of our design of who we are because if you don’t like me, you’re gonna banish me and I’m gonna go out into the woods and die alone. And so, that’s why we kind of worry so much about what others think about us at that age. And it kinda turns on and it kinda never goes away. You kinda have to manage it, which is a big reason why I’m making this movie. So, that’s why we ended up going towards the emotions that we have in the film now.
Related: Disney Accused of “Queerbaiting” in Newest Animated Film
Several of the original actors from Inside Out will be returning for the sequel film. Amy Poehler will return as Joy, Phyllis Smith is back as Sadness, and Lewis Black will return as Anger. Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader voiced Disgust and Fear, respectively, in the first film, but they will be voiced by Liza Lapira and Tony Hale in the sequel.
Anxiety will be voiced by Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri will voice Envy, Adèle Exarchopoulos will provide the voice for Ennui, and Paul Walter Hauser will voice Embarrassment.
Inside Out 2 will hit theaters nationwide on June 14, 2o24.
Which new emotion are you most looking forward to meeting in Inside Out 2? Let us know in the comments!