Nearly ten years have passed since five colorful teammates and one fluffy, pink, elephant-dolphin stole American’s hearts; now, they are returning with four new friends. “Inside Out 2” is not set to release until June 2024, but the recent trailer has brought back a refreshed sense of childhood wonder in adults and teens everywhere.
“I cannot wait to see the new ‘Inside Out’ movie,” Marissa Watts, senior, said.
The “Inside Out 2” trailer hit the internet on Nov. 9, 2023, and it was an undeniably exciting reveal. The first film depicted five emotions — joy, sadness, anger, disgust, and fear — living inside one girl’s head, Rylie, as she overcomes moving to a new city at a young age. The teaser revealed that four new characters — ennui (boredom), anxiety, embarrassment, and envy — were joining the original cast in the second movie as Rylie turns 13 and discovers the next phase of her life. Though the trailer gave little else away, what viewers do know is that there will certainly be a lot of changes as Rylie grows older and the emotions create new friends.
“I am excited to see ‘Inside Out 2’ and what they do with the story and the new emotions and characters! I have always loved ‘Inside Out,’ and I cannot wait to watch what happens in the sequel,” Victoria Sprecher, sophomore, said.
Although “Inside Out 2” is mainly geared toward kids, adults and teenagers everywhere are also excited, as the first film was released nearly ten years ago and served as quite a defining movie in their childhood. Just as Rylie is now older, so are “Inside Out’s” original viewers, making the new release an exciting visit back to their adolescent years. Most of the original cast — Amy Poehler as joy, Phyllis Smith as sadness, and Lewis Black as anger — will continue to voice their characters in the second movie, but Tony Hale will replace Bill Hader as fear, and Liza Lapira will replace Mindy Kaling as disgust. Despite these changes, people of all ages are ready to see a beautiful depiction of a coming-of-age story take to the screens once again.
“I would say I am pretty excited about [‘Inside Out 2’]. I really liked all the characters from the first one,” Anthony Gregones, freshman, said.
While the whimsical storyline and colorful characters were certainly what entranced audiences at first, the underlying theme revolving around mental health and the importance of asking for help were ultimately what made the movie such a hit. To ensure the emotions were executed properly, filmmakers teamed up with psychologists Dacher Keltner from UC Berkley and Paul Ekman from UC San Francisco so that they could serve as consultants for how the characters were going to be displayed. As the film was still aimed at a young audience, even children were able to understand the message in a simplified manner, which many parents were quite thankful for. With the first “Inside Out” being such a success, many are only anticipating just how powerful this next movie can be, as it focuses on the trials within the very difficult teenage years.
“The new ‘Inside Out’ movie creates a powerful message for its audience and strives to give nothing but the truth with its dedication to accuracy by teaming up with a team of psychologists for the film. It is at the top of my list for next upcoming movies,” Ari Havens, junior, said.
There are still five months left until “Inside Out 2” hits the theaters, but children and adults alike are already gearing up for the return of America’s favorite emotions.
