Warning! This article contains spoilers for Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2.

Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2 features a more complex human mind by introducing new emotions, but I am frustrated by the film’s explanation for Inside Out missing these emotions. Inside Out 2 introduces Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Envy as new emotions in Riley’s brain. The film demonstrates how several new emotions emerge in a person’s brain at puberty. However, these new emotions are noticeably absent in Inside Out. From the moment we saw the official trailer for Inside Out 2, we expected a reason why these new emotions did not exist in the first movie.

We hoped Disney Pixar would provide a unique and fascinating explanation of why these emotions disappear after puberty, especially given the complexities of the human brain. Considering how central Embarrassment, Ennui, Envy, and especially Anxiety are to Inside Out 2‘s story, it follows that they remain major players for adults – necessitating a detailed explanation for their previous absence. However, the movie’s rationale not only feels like a cop-out, it is also a disservice to the complex ideas that the Inside Out franchise is committed to exploring.

Inside Out 2 Confirms Anxiety Was Just Off-Screen In The First Movie

No Special Reason As To Why Anxiety And The Other New Emotions Were Missing

During the credits in Inside Out 2, we learn that Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Envy still exist in adult brains, which is an explanation that undoubtedly makes sense. However, it’s revealed that they are missing in the first film because, at some point after puberty, these emotions retreat behind a curtain and only appear when they feel it is necessary. There is no particular reason as to why they are not there. We hoped for an extraordinary explanation to illustrate how these emotions arrive during puberty and mysteriously disappear by adulthood. However, the curtain metaphor doesn’t match these expectations.

This reasoning completely disregards how emotions function in Inside Out. When Riley runs away, Anxiety does not appear in Riley’s parents’ minds. She also does not appear when Riley acts up, and her parents cannot figure out why. The explanation Inside Out 2 provides does not solve anything; it only creates narrative holes and issues that would not exist otherwise. We also have an additional slew of questions because of this decision. We do not even know what the new emotions do behind the curtain when they decide to leave.

Inside Out 2 Needed A Better Explanation For The Missing Emotions

A More Creative Option That Will Keep Audiences Engaged

Inside Out 2 needs a more compelling explanation for where Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Envy go after they decide to leave the control room. We know that humans receive Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust during infancy from Inside Out‘s opening scene. Every time Riley endures a life-changing experience as an infant, a new emotion appears. However, there is no indication that the new emotions arrive similarly. In fact, Nostalgia’s introduction complicates the situation. She appears from behind a door a couple of times throughout Inside Out 2, but the other emotions quickly push her back inside.

Nostalgia’s existence further muddies the narrative because they do not leave the control room once an emotion appears. Inside Out 2 suggests that humans acquire Nostalgia as a permanent emotion when they reach adulthood. However, this idea does not work since Nostalgia does not exist in Riley’s parents’ minds. Inside Out 2 implies that Nostalgia’s role grows the older a person gets, but this concept does not ring true for Riley’s parents. In reality, Inside Out 2 needed a better, more plausible explanation for emotions disappearing and reappearing.

Inside Out 3 Can More Directly Explain The First Film’s Missing Emotions

More To These New Emotions Other Than Leaving The Control Room

There is no confirmation that Inside Out 3 will happen, but a third movie could explain where these new emotions go between puberty and adulthood. A third film is the perfect opportunity for Pixar to fix the plot holes they created and formally introduce Nostalgia. Inside Out 3 can also portray how emotions like Anxiety and Envy end up behind a curtain, while the original five emotions never leave the control room. Regardless, this sequel is necessary to fix the problems with Inside Out 2.

There are more possibilities other than Inside Out 3. Pixar could create an animated short as a sequel to wrap up the plot holes of Inside Out 2. Pixar could also scrap Inside Out 3 and create a television show focusing on Riley’s day-to-day life. Although a television spin-off would not do Nostalgia justice, it is a great medium to learn more about Riley’s emotions and how they work together every day in Riley’s mind. Nevertheless, the new emotions Inside Out 2 introduced were great additions, especially Anxiety, a harrowing feeling that Inside Out 2 portrayed accurately.