A subplot in Inside Out 2 is more powerful than the central story. Find out how
In Pixar's 2015 film Inside Out, the ultimate message is that we all need emotional balance to experience life fully
which means managing some of our less pleasurable emotions, such as sadness and anger,
Kelsey Mann's 2024 sequel Inside Out 2 continues the theme — but this time, Riley is going through puberty, so a lot of new emotions are running through her mind.
Inside Out 2 once again emphasizes the importance of emotional regulation - but also has a different thread about a teenager
Which strengthens her self-awareness and acceptance that she is not going to be a perfectly good person all the time.
This is a particularly intriguing plot point - especially considering how it plays out through a character contradiction that's never fully resolved.
In the new film, Riley, now 13, is about to attend a prestigious hockey camp.
Joy, Sadness, and Riley's other emotions think they can handle things, until several new emotions, led by Anxiety, arrive on the scene.
Anxiety quickly takes over, convinced that her preparation and planning will lead Riley to success in high school, and it pushes the other emotions away from the characters in Riley's mind.
Eventually, after much struggle, Anxiety realizes she must step back and make room for Joy and the others.
As emotional as this realization is, though, it conflicts with another theme in the film that comes out of nowhere