Moving into mainstream streaming, the summer’s biggest hit opens to for an even bigger tidal wave of success. Inside Out 2 already boasts impressive statistics: the year’s largest box office gross plus number one money making ranking for any animated film ever. And it deserves to triumph because of its clever blending of eye-catching visuals for kids and intelligent scripting for adults. Following the premise of going inside a brain with characters like Joy, Fear, and Sadness manipulating actions of a young girl named Riley, the sequel brings back co-screenwriter Meg Le Fauve to explore the perils of puberty. Le Fauve maintains the originals’ sensibility, with newcomers in writer Dave Holstein and director Kelsey Mann catching the drift. Once again, Amy Poehler voices Joy with the enthusiasm of a cheerleader. This time, Anxiety joins the mix, voiced by Maya Hawke in a turn that feels comic, manic, and accurate. The writers’ insights about emotions combine with clever visuals, like heroic characters catching a ride in a moving body of water—the stream of consciousness. A big canyon—Sar Chasm—blocks their way at one point. Such scenes flow with seeming simplicity, but Inside Out 2 adds depth to its clarity, using concepts involving complicated issues that affect people on a daily basis. Three-year-olds will probably miss jokes and puns about sarcasm and puberty and some adults find animation of any kind too childish. But with the advice of putting aside negative biases, the second Inside Out team shows the value of all emotions and provides plenty of Joy to enjoy.
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