Pixar’s Inside Out 2 is not only the biggest hit in the studio’s history, it has become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Considering that the original Inside Out is one of Pixar’s most popular films, and is considered by many to be the best Pixar movie, the expectations for the sequel were certainly high, but few were expecting the new film to become such a big hit. The sequel is certainly a bigger movie than the original, but is it also a better movie than the original?
In a recent interview with Amy Poehler, Variety suggests that the sequel to Inside Out is a superior movie in every way. The actress doesn’t necessarily argue one way or the other, but she does think the reason the sequel resonates with audiences so much is because people are more open to discussing and embracing different emotions, and that the movie is both new and nostalgic. She explained…
They did such an amazing job. They took their time, and in doing so, our audience grew up as well. It has not been an easy decade, especially the last few years. I think now people have even bigger emotional language than we did 10 years ago. And people who saw their first film when they were 10 are not [sic] 20, and there’s a feeling they have of nostalgia combined with kids who are entering the real world for the first time.
A sequel to Inside Out was a somewhat surprising announcement from Pixar when it happened simply because the first movie had happened so long ago, and there hadn’t been much indication the studio was looking at sequels. Pixar has never been shy about sequels, in the way that Disney at least used to be.
There have been some great Pixar sequels and some not-so-great ones. We currently have a fifth Toy Story and a third Incredibles movie among the list of announced upcoming Pixar films.
The movie sees Riley as a teenager, as she comes to terms with emotions that she hasn’t previously experienced. It’s something that most of the audience can certainly relate to, both having gone through those emotions and as the voice of Joy says, watching our kids go through it. Poehler has nothing but major praise for the Pixar team’s abilities. She continued…
Also, [the people at] Pixar are just magicians. They’re so incredible at what they do, and the fact I get to be a part of it in any way is overwhelming to me. They just handle the nuance of how we have to figure out how to let go while parenting ourselves and letting our kids regulate themselves. The way they make you feel — the only way I can describe it is the movie feels like the opposite of being gaslit.
The opposite of being gaslit, I suppose is the feeling that you know what you’re experiencing is genuine. Pixar is certainly could at that, as so many of its films have made its audience cry.
If Inside Out 2 is a better film than the original, then that certainly raises the bar for any future entry in the franchise. While there is no official Inside Out 3 yet, such a film would seem more than likely considering that the filmmakers are willing and the audience will almost certainly show up.
