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One Interesting Group Is LOVING ‘Inside Out 2’

In 2015, Disney and Pixar fans were introduced to a young girl named Riley, who struggled to deal with all the changes in her life after her parents moved from Minnesota to San Francisco. Inside Out told Riley’s story but in a unique way.

Instead of focusing solely on Riley, the movie focused on the emotions inside Riley’s mind — Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Fear (Bill Hader). They try to help Riley adjust to her new life as best they can.

Inside Out
Credit: Disney/Pixar

Related: Disney and Pixar Make Huge Change to “Too Heavy” ‘Inside Out 2’

It’s been nine years since the film’s release, but fans’ love of it has not waned. On June 14, Disney and Pixar finally released the highly anticipated sequel, Inside Out 2.

Inside Out 2 saw the return of all the emotions from the first film, except in the sequel, Liza Lapira voiced Disgust, and Tony Hale voiced Fear. However, in the new movie, Riley is becoming a teenager, which means a whole host of new emotions are taking up residence in her developing brain.

inside out 2
Credit: Pixar Animation Studios

Inside Out 2 introduced audiences to Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), and even Nostalgia (June Squibb). They also got a new look at some of the same emotions that live inside Riley’s mom and dad’s heads!

Inside Out 2 is absolutely killing it at the box office, skyrocketing past all box office expectations. The Pixar sequel had been expected to make around $100 million in its opening weekend, but it ended up making just under $300 million! And it wasn’t just US audiences that were interested in seeing it. Disney and Pixar made around $155 million at the domestic box office and $145 million at the international box office. Fans all over the world were excited to see the next chapter in Riley’s story.

Joy, Anger, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, Anxiety, and Embarrassment Inside Out 2
Credit: Disney/Pixar

While adults and children of all ages love the movie, another group is praising it as well — therapists.

The primary new emotion in Inside Out 2 is Anxiety, and audiences are finding her extremely relatable. And therapists are loving how the movie is making kids feel comfortable talking about the complicated emotions they are feeling.

Even Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter is noticing a change in the way emotions are discussed.

“When I grew up, emotions were not talked about a lot. It was something that my generation didn’t really do a lot of.”

Still, young people today seem more comfortable talking about their feelings, he said, “which is great, because they are these powerful but largely hidden rivers that run beneath and power everything in ways that we’re not even aware of.”

Amy Poehler Inside Out 2 Very Personal
Credit: Disney/Pixar

Related: ‘Inside Out 2’ Is a Marvelous Mixed Bag of Emotions

To perfectly shape Riley’s emotions, Pixar consulted with therapists on both Inside Out and Inside Out 2, including psychologist Lisa Damour. Ms. Damour explained why it was so vital to have Anxiety be the main emotion when Riley began to go through puberty.

“It’s because they can anticipate more things that could go wrong,” said Damour. “Fear tends to be the emotion that we have that reacts to immediate threats. Anxiety can imagine all of the things that can go wrong and worry about them.”

Damour said she believes that the Inside Out movies help kids — and parents — validate emotions, including the painful ones, and show us that feeling those emotions can even make us better humans.

Maya Hawke Anxiety Inside Out 2
Credit: Disney/Pixar

Inside Out 2 can also help teenagers and their parents have more meaningful conversations. NPR spoke to a young boy named José, who saw the first movie when he was six and is now just about Riley’s age. Inside Out helped José understand why kids might pretend to feel a certain way and taught him more about his own emotions.

Now, he is hoping that Inside Out 2 can help parents. Dealing with teenagers is no easy feat, but José thinks that the new movie can help adults understand their kids a little better.

Have you seen Inside Out 2? Did you love it as much as so many others? Let us know in the comments!

Krysten Swensen

A born and bred New England girl living the Disney life in Southern California. I love to read, to watch The Golden Girls, and love everything to do with Disney and Universal. I also love to share daily doses of Disney on my Disney Instagram @BrazzleDazzleDisney!

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