Inside Out 2 Review - New Emotions, Old Formula

Inside Out 2 Review

Inside Out 2 Review: Back in 2015, Pixar's Inside Out came and shattered many stereotypes of creative filmmaking in the animation world. We have had so many good animated movies exploring animals, humans, machines, and whatnot, but we never had a film peeking into a human's mind. That's what made Inside Out extraordinary, and then there was a solid structure of creative headquarters along with our own known emotions to provide intellectual values. With Inside Out 2, Pixar proves again, but they know how to make a sequel. But I must say, the standard was too high to match this time. I mean, Inside Out is a classic, man. Even thinking of a sequel needs so much guts. Pixar and Disney still thought of going ahead and making a "good sequel," only to forget that the standard was "unmatchable."Riley is grown up, and the five emotions are thinking of new ideas to keep her happy and friendly. Suddenly, her life turns sad when she realizes that two of her best friends are going to shift somewhere else, leaving her all alone with new people (or friends). While Riley is trying to make a good impression in the new world of new friends, we have new emotions: Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment and their leader Anxiety, entering the headquarters with new ideas. Without losing a moment, Anxiety takes charge of the headquarters, and with one or two small arguments with Joy and other old fellas, it dumps them in Riley's back of the mind. Too much control of Anxiety and new emotions makes Riley's mind unstable. In the meantime, the old gang is trying to find Riley's "Sense of Self" and bring it back to the headquarters.Just like Inside Out, Inside Out 2 tries to be creative in this highly fictional world of emotions. The attempt is commendable, if not outstanding. Things like "sarcasm," "brainstorm," and two emotions fighting for Riley's good from their point of view certainly make it creative. We have some good comedy scenes too, with a sense of humor and a sense of "emotions." "You think we should go all the way to her back of mind; are you out of YOUR MIND?" Pixar's typical comeback notes in the ending portion give it a nice touch of sensibility, and then we have that "message" thing at work again. More than adults, I feel Inside Out 2 is for children and teenagers. Those small small mistakes they make at that age are common, so all they need is the right guidance.It's a fact too that Anxiety actually overtakes many things at that age, so full marks for brainstorming here. The film lacks a powerful ending, though. Pixar has had much better climaxes than this, so of course, I, as a Pixar, am entitled to something better. I'd still love a surprising comeback in the ending rather than a predictable climax. IS2 is too predictable and dated about its conclusion, so I can say that Pixar is either running out of ideas or they are already done with whatever brainstorming they could have done. We, as movie lovers, can't really expect more after so many classics. Things are getting formulaic, but that's natural.The voice cast of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, and Kensington Tallman sounded good. The visual effects are fine too, and the score was okay. It's more like the same world, so there aren't any surprises in store. We hardly have a few new friends and emotions as new entries, when I actually hoped for a lot more. We could have had more designs and structures in Riley's mind instead of the same old designs and places from the predecessor. The scope was there, but sadly, no one thought of updating the layouts.Kelsey Mann's sequel is enough to satisfy your hunger for a "good Pixar film," but certainly not enough for the "Inside Out" sequel. The last time Pixar really overtook the prequel was back in 2010 with Toy Story 3. It's not happening with Pixar for some years now. Nevertheless, they are delivering good content and haven't reached the bottom yet. Even their underwhelming films are much better than the overwhelming films of other studios—that tells you the legacy and the standard they are carrying. It's humanly impossible to match Inside Out, and Mann is a human alright. So, nothing to lose here. Go, have a good time at the movies, and forget the 2015 Oscar-winning classic for a while, and you'll come out of the theater with a happy face.