Inside Out 2
Release Date:2024-06-14
Inside Out 2 will finally focus on one plot that Toy Story 3 could not do. Inside Out famously gave a voice to the emotions of Inside Out‘s main character: Riley, an 11-year-old girl. With the move to a new city and the struggles that come with growing up, Riley’s life becomes more complicated as the film goes on. The movie showcases Riley’s inner emotions in a humanoid form, such as Joy and Sadness, as well as those of her parents. As such, viewers see the development of Riley’s core memories and emotions as she goes through such a delicate time in her life.
Similarly, Inside Out 2 will likely show Riley and her emotions again. If Inside Out was inspired by the changes in children’s personalities as they grow older, the same happens in other stages of their life. Inside Out 2 could feature new emotions as Riley grows up to join the already existing system of anthropomorphic emotions in Riley’s head. As a sequel, it is possible that Inside Out 2 will focus on an older version of Riley, in another stage of her life, compared to the 12-year-old girl the audience saw at the end of Inside Out.
Inside Out 2 Can Tell Toy Story 3’s Andy Story
It seems like one key plot theme in Inside Out 2‘s story, therefore, will be that of Riley’s teenage years, thus focusing on a very sensitive and delicate stage of growth in people’s lives. With the new challenges of puberty and adolescence, Riley will most likely have to face new challenges in Inside Out 2 that will cause turmoil in Riley’s emotions and will result in a change in her personality and feelings as she grows up before the viewers’ eyes, not unlike the shift the audience witnessed in the first Inside Out film.
Following the classic Pixar formula, “what if X had feelings,” that the audience has seen in movies like Toy Story, Inside Out reflects on the possibility of emotions themselves having feelings. While Toy Story 3 touched upon such a peculiar period in everybody’s lives, it only did so in passing. In Toy Story 3, Andy’s character change in becoming a teen is only mentioned through the lens of Andy not wanting to play with his old toys anymore, outgrowing the hobby he used to have as a kid in the first two Toy Story films.
Inside Out 2 Will Continue Turning Red’s Main Theme
Inside Out 2 will properly explore adolescence with more detail and nuance, which Toy Story 3 could not do in 2010. Unlike Toy Story 3, where the theme of growing up and puberty is only touched upon to move the plot forward, it will have much more impact on the possible story of Inside Out 2. More recently, in 2022, Turning Red did focus on puberty and growing up, as it features 13-year-old Mei Lee, a Chinese-Canadian student who transforms into a giant panda when she experiences strong emotions as she faces the changes and challenges of adolescence.
However, in Turning Red, Mei is the main character, and thus, her feelings and struggles in growing up are central to Turning Red. The same cannot be said for Riley in Inside Out. Much like in Toy Story, in Inside Out 2, Riley is only a vessel for the audience to see her emotions. Therefore, Riley is not the main character in Inside Out 2. Instead, her anthropomorphic emotions are the actual focus of the film. As such, a movie exploring the theme of adolescence in such a way that centers the emotions will have a particular resonance with its audience.
