FILM REVIEW: Inside Out 2 is a Nostalgic Return, With Growing Pains

"Inside Out 2" is a delightful return to "the interior of Riley's mind," this time navigating the turbulent waters of adolescence.

Courtesy Pixar Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

This movie is certainly not as good as the original, but still I enjoyed it very much. In this new chapter we see the lead character Riley turn 13 and transition out of middle school. She starts to enter puberty as she goes off to hockey camp. Inside her brain we have the same characters from the last movie, although some have different voices, and we have new characters. One of the best new characters is definitely Anxiety. She was funny and relatable. I also loved Ennui, he was the embodiment of teenage apathy, adding another layer of humor and relatability.

There is a battle then in Riley's brain over which emotions should take the lead. This is something we all go through during our teenage years.

The overall message of the movie which I really liked was the importance of our flaws and mistakes. These things are just as important a part of our personality and who we are as our strengths and what we get right. This can be a difficult challenge to grasp. Especially for younglings.

I loved the beginning scene where Joy is putting all the bad memories of mistakes at the back of the brain. I think I put all my memories there!

On their adventure the original four emotions encounter a closet of deep dark secrets. The characters there are great. There's one character that's like a combination of several cartoon characters from different shows and he is so funny. Some of the plays on words such as, a stream of consciousness, a sarchasm, and a brainstorm were particularly funny.

The ending is a bit misleading as it makes it seem like you can wrap up your puberty issues in one weekend whereas in reality it takes years. But of course this allows for another sequel if this does well.

Despite minor shortcomings, "Inside Out 2" is a heartwarming and entertaining journey. It delivers a valuable message about self-acceptance wrapped in a delightful package.

I highly recommend this. Four out of five stars.