Inside Out 2

“Make room for new emotions” is the tagline for the second movie, which focuses on Riley entering adolescence. The film begins with Riley changing. Riley has grown up, and with that comes the development of a sense of self. This self-concept is the entirety of the thoughts that emerge from Riley's flow of consciousness, triggered by memories. Joy is responsible for this flow, determined not to let bad memories reach it. As the film progresses, four new emotions join the core: Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear: Anxiety, Ennuie, embarrassment, and Envy.

Riley is invited by her high school coach to a hockey camp with her close friends, thanks to her success in hockey. Everything changes overnight as Riley enters adolescence, marking a critical point in the film. After the technical team arrives and adds new emotions to the control panel, these new emotions suddenly enter the control center. Ennuie’s lack of interest is beautifully depicted in the film. She communicates very little with the team, continuously lying on her couch and controlling the panel with a remote. Embarrassment is a character that avoids showing itself, hiding behind a hoodie when feeling vulnerable. Envy is very active, small in size, but with large eyes that beautifully reflect its main trait. Anxiety is an excited, talkative character, thinking, speaking, and reacting quickly. Anxiety's rapid decision-making and haste make it difficult for the other core emotions to keep up. Following a disagreement between Anxiety and the other emotions, Anxiety takes control, sending Riley's sense of self to the back of her mind. Anxiety then traps Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness in jars. During this, Fear expresses themselves as a suppressed emotions. The film contains many intricate details that become evident as it progresses.

It highlights the pressure to suppress core emotions like Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger with the arrival of new emotions during adolescence. After Anxiety takes control, the film follows the events during a three-day hockey camp. Riley does not want to be separated from her old friends but also tries to adapt to her surroundings. She befriends high school girls at the camp, with Envy taking the spotlight in these scenes. To feel like one of them, Riley dyes her hair and pretends not to like the music group she loves.

Towards the end of the film, Riley becomes so anxious about making the team that she cannot sleep at night. She sneaks into the coach's office and reads his notebook. Seeing the part about herself, she becomes very upset as the coach doesn't think she is ready. Determined, she prepares for the final game the next day, believing that scoring three goals would impress the coach and secure her place on the high school team. Initially, everything goes well, and Riley's anxiety helps her score two goals, but a foul on her close friend and her subsequent penalty box time affect her deeply. During this, Joy and the others restore Riley's old sense of self to the control center. However, Anxiety's newly developed self-concept causes Riley to have an anxiety attack. Initially, Joy wants to reinstate the old, seemingly good self-concept, but later accepts that the new emotions are as functional as the old ones and are a part of Riley's identity. Riley then forms a new self-concept, deciding that even memories they deemed bad should flow into consciousness.

The Inside Out animation film is a powerful movie that resonates with children, teens, and adults alike. It emphasized the necessity and importance of all emotions. Despite not wanting to feel certain emotions, it highlighted the significance of experiencing every emotion for individual growth and self-concept. Joy connects us to life, Sadness helps us relax, Disgust protects us from unwanted situations, Fear guards us against danger, Anger allows us to set boundaries, Embarrassment helps regulate our behavior, Ennuie encourages us to rest, Envy shows us that we can be better, and finally, Anxiety, as long as it's managed, prepares us for and alerts us to challenging situations that we may face.