Inside Out 2 - Relatable to the Core

In 2015, Pixar released Inside Out, starring Amy Poehler as Joy, the leader of five personified emotions inside the head of a preteen girl named Riley Andersen. With the film being a significant box office success and blowing away critics and audiences alike with its masterpiece of a story, it only made sense that a sequel eventually follow.

And when I watched Inside Out 2, I was blown away myself.

In this sequel, released almost precisely one year ago, Poehler and a few other cast members reprise their roles, while four new emotions join Headquarters; Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment, and their leader Anxiety, a nervous wreck voiced by Maya Hawke. I had high expectations going in, but still, I was not prepared for just how relatable this movie was.

Maya Hawke's Anxiety enters the scene after Riley, now 13, begins to undergo puberty. Sure enough, the results quickly go downhill, with Anxiety insisting that Riley must focus on the future after her friends Bree and Grace tell her they are not going to the same high school. However, Anxiety's vision for Riley directly clashes with Joy's desire to just enjoy hockey camp and not worry about any of that right now.

While Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust try to return to Headquarters, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment try to befriend the Fire Hawks, the team at the high school Riley will be attending. Although I never played hockey myself, I saw myself in Riley as she worried about her future and her old sense of self became a sense of doubt. Thankfully, this only lasts a couple of days, as Riley learns to embrace her imperfections, admit that she has screwed up before, and not let her emotions, whether it be Anxiety, Joy, or Anger, influence who she is as a person.

All of this exists to tell an important moral lesson; that anxiety is overwhelming, but it can be managed. The way that this story conveys that important message is exactly what made it so relatable to me; I was struggling with my own anxiety issues at the time. I had no clue what to do, but I learned through this film that I just don't have time to worry over stuff that I might not even be able to control.

I may not be perfect, but I still love myself for my skills, dreams, and talents, and those who love me for the person I am. And this film taught me to apply my daily life with a sense of joy and confidence, not anxiety and doubt.

Of course, just like its characters, nothing and nobody is perfect. But with Inside Out 2, it's clear that Pixar, Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, and everyone else involved in the film's production put in 110% effort, and they all deserve to be proud of this sequel to the 2015 blockbuster animated feature. I eagerly await a third film in this franchise that I know will be just as relatable as the first two.