Review | Inside Out 2 movie review: Pixar adds new teenage emotions to coming-of-age sequel

In sequel to animated hit, Riley is going through adolescence and encounters new teenage emotions including Anxiety, Envy and Embarrassment

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Inside Out 2 follows the emotions of 13-year-old Riley. This time the original emotions (left of screen, clockwise from left: Fear, Sadness, Joy, Disgust and Anger) are joined by Anxiety (right), Envy, Embarrassment and others. Image: Disney/Pixar

James Mottram

Published: 3:00am, 13 Jun 2024Updated: 3:36am, 13 Jun 2024

3.5/5 stars

With apologies to Soul and Turning Red, 2015’s Inside Out was arguably the last Pixar masterpiece. Masterminded by the magician that is director Pete Docter, the film took you inside the inner landscape of a young girl, personifying her emotions.

Now it’s time for Round 2. Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman) is 13 and about to be beset by a whole new set of emotions as adolescence hits her like the proverbial avalanche of bricks.

Inside, trying to steer her personality, is the eternally upbeat Joy (Amy Poehler), with help from Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale) and Disgust (Liza Lapira).

Inside Out 2 | Final Trailer

Joy is tidying up some of Riley’s less palatable memories when a bunch of workmen raid their HQ, fiddling with the controls and erecting a sign: puberty is messy. It is, of course, the natural step for Inside Out 2 – taking Riley through that most awkward coming-of-age stage.

Within seconds, the orange-hued Anxiety (Maya Hawke) appears, flanked by Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) and, amusingly, Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a Gallic figure who just expresses boredom and disdain.