Charlie M

Warning: Review contains spoilers If Inside Out 1 is considered a 4-5 star movie, Inside Out 2 is easily deserving of 2-3 stars. Unlike the first installment, Inside Out 2 tries to focus equally on the stories of Riley and the emotions. Because of this, Riley's story is more interesting in the sequel. However, that also means the emotions had a worse story. The first movie was full of emotion, as a movie designed about emotions should be. Bing Bong sacrificing itself for Joy, Riley reuniting with her family, and Joy appreciating Sadness all tugged on our hearts. However, the sequel falls flat to deliver on any emotion but cringe, which I guess is applicable with the introduction of Embarrassment. The whole scene ripping off Dora the Explorer was just awkward, I almost had to turn off the TV and call it a night. Rather than building up for meaningful moments, the movie works off cheap puns like the sar-chasm. To it's credit, I did enjoy the cheap laughs, but I certainly expected more out of a Pixar film. There were also some unanswered questions like "Why is Family Island so much smaller?" "What did Riley do to stop being called Michigan?" As well as some poorly fleshed out ideas like the Dark Secret being her burning a hole in a rug... Inside Out 2 isn't all bad though. The animation is still top notch. The movie is vibrant and lighting is well done (minus the Dora parody, which just felt out of place.) The story of the emotions also had a fun sense of adventure. Is just unfortunate that through 1.5 hours of adventure, the plot for the emotions is essentially the same as the first. Anxiety basically was Joy from the first movie who later realized she needs to give up control to allow Riley to have a thriving life. Another thing the movie does well is introducing Riley's sense of self. Unlike the first movie where her story is very generic, Riley experiences challenges that bring her sense of self into conflict. All in all, the movie was very anticipated and fell flat of expectations. It seems to be getting more praise than it deserves, which prompts this review.