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Inside Out 2 is now in cinemas, and comes not quite hot-on-the-heels of the 2015 original, as it’s taken nine years to bring this to the big screen, but with so much in the script to pay attention to, I can see a great deal of work has been put into this and how a second viewing would be beneficial, perhaps even this coming weekend if it fits in with other new film schedules.
I didn’t get round to seeing the first one, but will certainly do now, although I had seen enough clips to get the basic idea. Still, I get that watching that entry will prove dividends.
Riley (Kensington Tallman) is now reaching her teenage years – along with everything that comes along at that time of life (I don’t want to spoil the point where it all kicks off), and she’s training for her school ice hockey team, hoping to represent her country in the big leagues on the Firehawks team at hockey camp, alongside her new friends Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green), but there’s also that teenage angst where you have existing friends, but also want to fit in alongside the cool kids you come across, including Valentina (Lilimar), albeit part of the most diverse group of kids you’ll never actually see interacting in reality. Still, this is Hollywood.
However, in reaching her teenage years, she loses her innocent ‘sense of self’, represented by a blue symbol which ends up being replaced, as life changes and new emotions come into effect, such as Anxiety (Maya Hawke – Asteroid City) and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos – Smoking Causes Coughing, Blue Is The Warmest Colour), the latter referred to by Joy (Amy Poehler – Moxie) as “wee-wee”.
When Joy & co. reached the place in the mind where long-term memories locked away, hence… ‘supressed emotions’, this was just one example of a large number of lines, making this film feel a lot deeper in the script than I was expecting, given that while the film is about becoming a teenager, it’s written through the understanding of the process as an adult.
Now, another great thing about Inside Out 2 – the 3D. It’s very well used in terms of the depth of the image, especially when down in the memory pool, with all the strings of consciousness leading back up to Riley’s mind, and overall, such a better use than The Garfield Movie, which barely bothered. This coming weekend, it’s also showing in 3D again, albeit in less screens, but I think a second viewing will be required, as week 3 is bound to be 2D-only.
It’s just such a shame that in 2024, any film is unlikely to see a 3D Blu-ray get released. Oh, and the fact it’s back in blurry screen 1, again, where I also saw the above orange feline film. Maybe they’ll have somehow fixed it, this time round? I’m not holding my breath, but I have just had an email through (which I receive about once a month) for a customer satisfaction survey, and I understand these do get back to the Regional Managers, so I will certainly make my thoughts known!
I didn’t catch the names of all the original emotions when they were introduced early on, the only one I missed being Disgust (Liza Lapira), who was also the only emotion NEVER name-checked throughout the entire movie. She did seem a rather irrelevant one, compared to all the others.
June Squibb‘s Nostalgia is a nice addition, though.
Lance is a brilliant depiction of a videogame character. As well as the touches to make him look like he’s just stepped out of a game, he perfectly – and briefly – replicates what it’s like to walk out of a room and into another, when the game needs pixel-perfect precision. Often, now, when you’re close enough, a game will slowly move your character towards the door so that you actually go through it. However, it’s just a shame he’s voiced by internet idiot Yong Yea, who just switches the camera on, waffles some gaming news with zero interest in the topic, and has the charisma of a damp rag.
There’s also a character called Deep Dark Secret (Steve Purcell). Will we find out what it is? Maybe…
Additionally, I noticed a moment where Riley talks about walking without just having your hands down by your sides so they’re just hanging there, which is what I see so many middle-aged men doing, these days, and they look like a zombie. At least put one in a pocket, while doing something palatable with the other.
And wait until you learn about sarcasm…
So, what will the filmmakers do for a third part? Riley goes off to University? I hope we don’t have to wait another 9 years for that tertirary installment, although I’m not keen on a return for Pouchy.
Finally, Inside Out 2 could well be on the way to have the biggest box-office takings for 2024, clawing in $300m for the opening weekend. It’s currently on $379.7 million as of June 18th, and is certainly far more deserving of the takings than the awful Super Mario Bros Movie. The only potential challenger this year, will be Deadpool And Wolverine, released on July 25th.
Inside Out 2 is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 96 minutes
Release date: June 17th 2024
Studio: Walt Disney, Pixar
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Dolby Vision)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 8.5/10
Director: Kelsey Mann
Producer: Mark Nielsen
Screenplay: Meg LeFauve, Dave Holstein
Music: Andrea Datzman
Voice cast:
Joy: Amy Poehler
Anxiety: Maya Hawke
Riley: Kensington Tallman
Disgust: Liza Lapira
Fear: Tony Hale
Anger: Lewis Black
Sadness: Phyllis Smith
Envy: Ayo Edebiri
Valentina: Lilimar
Grace: Grace Lu
Bree: Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green
Ennui: Adèle Exarchopoulos
Mum: Diane Lane
Dad: Kyle MacLachlan
Embarrassment: Paul Walter Hauser
Coach Roberts: Yvette Nicole Brown
Bloofy: Ron Funches
Pouchy: James Austin Johnson
Lance Slashblade: Yong Yea
Deep Dark Secret: Steve Purcell
Mind Cop Frank: Dave Goelz
Foreman: Kirk Thatcher
Mind Cop Dave: Frank Oz
Mom’s Anger: Paula Pell
Nostalgia: June Squibb
Dad’s Anger: Pete Docter
Forgetter Paula: Paula Poundstone
Fritz: John Ratzenberger
Margie: Sarayu Blue
Jake: Flea
Forgetter Bobby: Bobby Moynihan
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.