Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Inside Out 2 

This film is miles better than the first which is no easy fear as I loved the first film! Now this film had a huge expectation to live up to as the first film was so incredible and a breath of fresh air for Pixar. The film needed to make a film that built off the first film without it feeling repetitive of what that first film did so well. Inside Out 2 is able to bring the characters we come to love into very new situations that not only made for great moments of conflict for them but also got us to understand them on a deeper level then ever before. The film takes also new characters and shows us their intentions but also never felt like throw away characters they felt like fully realized characters by the end of the film. Inside Out 2 deals with very emotionally heavy themes in a way that never talks down to the audience but gets them to walk away with a story and message that is essential in realizing when growing up as a teenager. 

Firstly, This film’s strongest element is the story at hand which truly blew me away for many reasons. Now a lot of Disney sequels I won’t say all but quite a few feel very soulless and repetitive of the film that came before it and very much like a cash grab to capitalize on the success of the first film. Now Inside Out is very unique for its incredible original storytelling that it had in 2015 that truly left a great impression on many myself included. As the film was able to amazingly represent the raw feelings of what its like to be growing up with all those feelings swirling around your head and what this sequel does is take that same amazing approach to its narrative and characters but fleshes them out in a terrific way. The film is able to still present the characters we fell in love with while showing the crazy antics they get into while also expanding the world of Inside Out with many new elements that never felt overwhelming for the audience. It is done in a smart way that serves a purpose to the plot while also painting new areas for the characters to go. The film takes on themes of Anxiety and pressing your feelings down and what happens when you try to repress your emotions. The film sees Joy try to remove her negative memories to the back of her head and then When Anxiety shows up trying to take over everything it is partially a result of Joy not letting Anxiety mix with all the other feelings. So when Anxiety tries to do everything Joy and the others have to try to restore balance to Riley’s head so she dose not become a big whirlwind of just pure anxiety and loose who she is because now her entire personality starting to be what she needs to do to be liked instead of acting on the choices that will benefit her as a person. So their is serious conflict happening because Riley starts acting out in ways she never would because Anxiety thinks even though its against what she usually does by her being more liked is more important as the potential positive benefit the long term affect will be on her but she does not see the damage its doing to Riley and the people around her as they know that is not who she is. So The film delves into the message of not letting Anxiety take over your head but at the same time not to repress your feelings as if you do your entire mind will be put into total chaos and you potentially may loose all sense of who you are just in order to be liked by someone. Now using that as the overarching tone for the film I think is not only incredibly mature but respects the audience in so many ways to go in directions that are more mature and dose not just recycle the same beats of the first film. It is not afraid to go into territory that is new for the characters and thrusts them into situations that we not only better understand them but also teaches younger audiences important life lessons that they can walk away with that is woven into the story at hand. The film is imaginative and immerses you into the amazing world that amazed people In the first film but it also has the strength to go places narratively that strengths the sequel without it feeling like a cash grab but actually builds upon the first film that not only in my opinion surpasses the first film in terms of story but it also does some great character building as well. The story in this film is truly amazing and is one of the most mature screenplays that Pixar has done since 2020’s Soul. 

Secondly, The performances in this film is so fun! Now the performance out of the entire voice cast that really stood out to me is Amy Poehler who again reprises her role as Joy in what I think is a tremendous performance as she gets to go places emotionally that she never did the first time around which gave a lot more for Amy to do in terms of her character. She did a great job at exploring places of the character we have yet to see and keeping her character as entertaining as ever. Now The rest of the cast is good and once again Lewis Black’s turn as Anger is as hilarious as the first film and now a lot of the voice cast was replaced for the sequel expect for Amy and Lewis which I don’t understand why as yes these two actors are big highlights in terms of characters but the rest of the cast should of been given the chance to reprise their characters as they all did a great job with their work on the first film. I am not saying the replacements didn’t do a good job but it felt very much like a lost opportunity to get them to come back as their was nothing wrong with their work on the first film and a great new addition to the cast was Maya Hawke who plays Anxiety and brings such a shot of excitement to the role you can’t help but fall in love with. The cast is solid but the big standout is once again Amy Poehler. 

Lastly, Inside Out 2 is an outstanding sequel that builds upon the first film in an incredible way that never felt repetitive or similar to the first film’s story. While keeping the style of what we love about the first film very much present and going places with the character that makes them feel more understood and narratively tells a story that I not only think is better then the first but is a mature story that adults and children can relate to that will tug at your heart strings. The film tackles very real and relatable themes that many will respect for its authentic take on anxiety and The entire voice cast all give great performances but it is the story that is the heartbeat of the film that crafted one of the best recent Disney sequels I have ever seen. Inside Out 2 dose not loose any of its charm that the first film had it surpasses the first film with its incredible story and great world building this film is amazing and I recommend everyone go see it. 

This film centres around Riley now dealing with the growing pains of puberty and trying to find her place socially with her friends she is now tasked to having to deal with anxiety and how to take a hold on it without loosing who she is. 

Rated PG : Some Thematic Elements

Amy Poehler : Poehler gives another great performance of her character Joy once again! Now she gave a great performance of this character in the first film so the question is where can she go character wise she had yet to explore and she gets a ton of development for her incredibly fun role. We see the sheer weight she is under as the unofficial leader of the group while also trying to maintain that joyous personality she is known for but we see how exhausting it is for her to keep that up all the time twenty four seven seven days a week. To see the character of Joy going through such emotional stress this time around not only made for a great performance for Amy to get to go places emotionally she didn’t get to the first time but we also as the audience can find new ways to connect with her. Now to see her go up against the new emotions at the dashboard of Riley’s mind not only makes her upset but in some way feels she does not want to be forgotten or replaced by these new emotions now taking space in Riley’s brain. She has to be polite and kind but at the same time you can see it eating at her to want to speak her mind at the total chaos that it not is just causing Riley but to Joy herself as she has taken care of her for so many years and she refuses to let years of progresses to be thrown right out the window just because someone new wants to come in and claim control over her. Now Amy is able to channel that kind nature of the character while also wanting to rip the hair in her head at the total disorganization that the new emotions are putting her through and knowing the damage it is doing to Riley and her being the kind person she is she gets very protective over Riley knowing the choices their doing to Riley is unlike her and she wants to correct the horrible choices their making for her. Poehler is able to present that fun and light hearted humour of Joy but also show the emotional stress of what it is like to be constantly always having to keep things in order or else the others don’t know what to do which puts a lot of pressure on her to be perfect all the time. Their is a moment where she goes on a big rant and tells the other emotions that she has known for so long how tired she is to be put under this expectation to be happy all the time and how she has moments where she dose not want to and Amy channels that frustration so well through her voice and it comes across in such great waves of emotional sincerity. Amy does a great job at going places with the character that fleshes her out and also challenges herself as an actor to find parts of the role to keep fresh and interesting for the audience. She knew exactly what was needed in order to further the development of the character but also not loose the fun aspect of what we love about her role at the same time It is a terrific performance by Amy that builds upon greatly the performance she gave in the first film and truly finding new ground for her character to go. 

Kelsey Mann : Kelsey did an amazing Job at taking on This massive film! Now he is a filmmaker that has not many big screen credits to his name in terms of directing now for him to take on a film like a massive Pixar production that is a sequel to one of their most compelling original stories in the last 15 years is a big responsibility to take on. Now he does not try to duplicate what the first film did so well but instead brings the characters and the story into new places that not only built upon the world we saw in the first film but really puts the characters into situations that made them even more relatable then ever before. He takes something like Riley doing try outs for a hockey team and expands it into a situation where she either can be popular and the cool kid or loose her personality in the process of trying to be something she isn’t. Now he shows how big the world these emotions are working in but he dose not bite off more then he can chew each single set piece and sequence has a reason to be in the film it isn’t just placed into the story for a cheap laugh or eye candy. What I loved about it expanding the world is it contributed to the story at hand it wasn’t just added for the sake of distracting the audience with big cool set pieces their was reason behind all the actions in this film and I loved that attention it had to story first and visual later. He does not compromise the importance of the story for style which is so important as it is so easy to loose that aspect of storytelling as the more you have to use the easier it is to take the easier out in order to tell your story. Now Kelsey presents the emotion Anxiety and the sheer amazing relatability that so many young and old can connect with that emotion and sure their are moments of comedy but perfectly represents that feeling in a way that both adults and children can relate to it and then having the theme of repressing ones feelings and not letting your emotions take control of you but letting yourself take charge is such a great message for people to walk away with. He knew exactly how to craft a worthy sequel people would enjoy and Pixar is known for stories that tugs at your hearts and has themes of very relatable topics many deal with in their day to day and he throws that into the story in such a smart way that really makes this a worthy sequel that among one of Disney’s strongest as he keeps the fun aspect of the emotions but keeps the main focus of what made the first film so great was its sense of heart and attention of representing emotions in such a fun but also emotionally relatable way that audiences will stay engaged and he did that greatly along with getting great performances from his entire cast Kelsey understood what this film needed in order to draw people back almost 10 years later he achieved that and also gave elements to it that really made it one amazing. Kelsey did a great job at brining this sequel to the screen in a way the feels like his voice and I hope he gets a chance to direct the next one as he seems to really understand the voice that is needed in order to explore this world he did a great job.