The article contains spoilers for Inside Out 2.
Summary
Inside Out 2director Kelsey Mann explains the emotional ending of the new Pixar film and why it provides a valuable life lesson. The sequel sees Joy (Amy Poehler) and the original emotions from the first film challenged by the arrival of Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and several other new emotions. While Anxiety is the story’s antagonist, she genuinely wants to help Riley (Kensington Tallman) and do what’s best for her.
In an interview withUSA Today, Mann discussedhow the conflict between Joy and Anxiety comes to a satisfying conclusion, showing the value both emotions bring to everyday life, and how the characters' compromise teaches a larger lesson about dealing with real challenges. He relates the resolution between the two characters to his own life and to the experience of learning to manage anxiety. Read Mann’s comments below:
They’re two parents arguing over how to best take care of their child. She’s trying to help Riley, but she just went too far and got caught up in it like we all can do just as parents and as people. And like Anxiety, our anxieties can spin. I’ve definitely had that happen in my own life. It can get to a point where it’s actually harmful. So it’s learning how to manage anxiety in a way that can be really helpful to your life.
Does Inside Out 2’s Ending Stick The Landing?
Anxiety Was Only Trying To Help Riley Despite Being The Antagonist.
The ending also oversimplifies the ongoing nature of anxiety, with Anxiety being easily managed after a single, brief panic attack, although the long-term challenges could be explored inInside Out 3.
Inside Out 2’s endingeffectivelyshows that all emotions are valid and are part of one’s identity, with Joy and Anxiety needing to work together during Riley’s panic attack, and Riley’s new Sense of Self defined by a combination of various memories and beliefs. Anxiety is not an antagonist to be defeated in the end but is instead a valuable part of Riley that Joy and the other emotions need to work with as the teenager navigates the journey of adolescence and countless other life challenges that lie ahead.
Inside Out 2’s 21 Easter Eggs & Pixar References Explained
Inside Out 2, the long-awaited sequel to Pixar’s beloved 2015 movie Inside Out, contains a number of Easter eggs and references to other Pixar movies.
Even after this, Anxiety is shown to be helpful to Riley. When the anxious emotion nearly starts spinning out of control again with future doomsday scenarios, Joy soothes Anxiety and has her focus on a more immediate problem they can solve, with Anxiety pointing out that Riley needs to study for her upcoming Spanish test. As Mann intends, the ending proves that anxiety can be helpful when managed properly, making it clear thatanxiety is not an emotion to be ashamed of or to be feared. It should be acknowledged, but it also cannot be the emotion that drives all decision-making.
WhileInside Out 2’s ending mostly works, it does feel slightly repetitive from the first film’s lesson about the importance of a core memory being both happy and sad. Joy, in particular, arguablyhas to relearn what she already learned about all emotions being valid and needed for Riley, only this time the lesson has more to do with Anxiety than with Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The ending also oversimplifies the ongoing nature of anxiety, with Anxiety being easily managed after a single, brief panic attack, although the long-term challenges could be explored inInside Out 3.
Inside Out 2
Cast
Inside Out 2 is the sequel to the 2015 original film, which starred a young girl named Riley with a head full of emotions. - literally. With Amy Pohler as Joy, Bill Hader as fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger, the all-star cast brought to life the emotions that adolescents face as they grow, change, and adapt to new situations. This sequel, currently in development, will bring Amy Pohler back as Joy, with Riley, now a teenager.
