Considering that Inside Out 2 will be the highest grossing movie of 2024, to say that people loved the film or that it clearly resonated with people, is something of an understatement. The movie was huge, and it seems to have elicited strong emotional reactions from everybody who saw it, including the director of one of the scariest movies of the year.
Fede Alvarez is known as a horror director. He's the man who this year revitalized the Alien franchise with Alien: Romulus, generally seen as one of the best entries in the franchise in years. Considering his love of horror, one might expect his favorite movie of 2024 to be another horror film, but instead he tells Variety his favorite movie was Inside Out 2. He apparently was also a big fan of the original, saying…
I’ve always believed that there is no greater accomplishment for a film than to impact us with such strength that it forever changes how we experience our lives. The first 'Inside Out' taught us the importance of sometimes allowing sadness into our kids’ hearts, as well as our own, in a way that stays with me till this day.
Inside Out is generally seen as one of the best Pixar movies, so it’s not too much of a surprise that the studio made a point to make a sequel. The question was just how a follow up would be able to impact an audience in the same way as the original. Alvarez says he fully expected Inside Out 2 to have an impactful message, but he was perhaps a bit more surprised with how the story swept him away, he continued…
So when I sat down to watch ‘Inside Out 2,’ these thoughts and expectations were surely on my mind. But as I waited for a powerful new life lesson, I quickly surrendered to the mesmerizing story. I was lost in the sound of my kids’ laughter, the result of the pitch-perfect work of director Kelsey Mann, who masterfully takes us through the misadventures of the main character Riley during her first days as a teenager, as well as the witty inner workings of her newfound emotions. Every single story beat is effortless and inevitable.
I certainly understand what Fede Alvarez is talking about. Inside Out 2 is such an instantly understandable and relatable story. Even my daughter understood Inside Out 2 and she's still years away from being a teenager. I expect that if she watches the movie again in a few years she'll understand it even more.
Most critics loved Inside Out 2 and a big part of the reason for that was the relatability of the story. Anybody who is, or has ever been a teenager, could likely empathize greatly with the difficulties that Riley went through. That was no different for Fede Alvarez. He admits to being “hopelessly lost” as a teenager himself, and so watching Riley go through such struggles really hit him, leaving the man who makes the rest of us scream in terror, in tears…
While witnessing Riley’s inner journey, I was inevitably revisiting my own struggles as a teenager, and how hopelessly lost I was at that time. Soon enough, sadness was asking to come in. And I welcomed her. Maybe because this time I knew tears were going to be followed by a warm embrace. One that comes with learning that all those teen experiences we might think were so unique to our existence, are actually shared by so many of us.
It's not exactly a shock to say the teenage years are rough for a lot of people. I'm not sure mine were all that bad compared to some, but still I spent most of Inside Out 2 having flashbacks to those moments that weren't that far from what Riley experienced on screen.
Pixar is used to being at the top of the box office but following a run of movies that struggled at the box office, the studio is back. Fede Alvarez thinks Inside Out 2 is one of Pixar’s greatest achievements.
‘Inside Out 2’ reminded me of the true power of a great film. It’s funny, engaging, moving and Pixar at its best.
Considering the success of Inside Out 2, it’s little surprise that Pixar is considering even more movies in the franchise. If they can get a director used to giving us chills to break down in tears, then they will likely be just as successful.
