Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Plot: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust have been running a successful operation by all accounts. However, when Anxiety shows up, they aren't sure how to feel.
There was a time when it seemed like Pixar couldn't make a wrong move if they tried. Their films, while kid-friendly, always had something thought-provoking to say to adults as well and every movie had a style all its own. Then they created Cars. Not to say the first one (Cars that is) wasn't a hit with fans of all ages but it also managed to sell a crap tonne of merchandise and with that, the dark days of Pixar was born.
Sooooooooo coooooooool
It's been a mixed bag since then but to be fair, Pixar has been making sequels to their iconic movies long before Cars was a thing. And while I think movies like Toy Story could've ended perfectly after the third one, the premise of 2015's Inside Out is one that's well suited for sequel-ization (it's a word if I say it is). We could see Riley's inner world through marriage, children and even when she's as old as Carl from Up! But before we get to any of that we get to journey through the nightmare most of us are all too familiar with, the joys and pains of puberty.
Joy (Amy Poehler) and the gang are back and they now believe they've helped Riley (Kensington Tallman) become not just a good person, but a perfect one. All is well until Riley wakes up a newly minted teenager and with puberty comes new emotions such as Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos) Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) and Envy (Avo Edebiri) all led by Anxiety (Maya Hawke). Quickly taking over, Riley's new emotions think they know what's best for her and force Joy, Anger ((Lewis Black), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Liza Lapira) and Fear (Tony Hale) out by literally imprisoning them. The OG emotes escape though and try to make it to the deepest recesses of Riley's mind in hopes of restoring her to her "true self".
Oh no! Not the selfie stage!
Inside Out 2 is the directorial debut of Kelsey Mann and while he arguably plays it safe by not veering too far from the first movie's style, there are enough new elements added here to keep this sequel from feeling uninspired. Joy and Friends' journey through Riley's mind is energetic enough to keep kids engaged while also delivering the type of smart writing and humour that will make adults in the audience chuckle knowingly. Most of the original voice cast have returned while replacements like Tony Hale replacing Bill Hader as Fear was a non-issue. I hardly even noticed the difference.
The newcomers, though, were hit and miss, not due to the performances but more because the writing doesn't give them much to do. Anxiety is front and centre in teenaged Riley's life as she deals with her two best friends leaving for a different school, trying out for her dream hockey league and all the awkwardness of trying to fit in. Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) does a phenomenal job of balancing the nuances of playing such a character that's literal Anxiety but unfortunately her companions don't get that much to do and aren't nearly as well developed as Joy's entourage.
Welcome new friend!
Fortunately, where characters fall a bit short, the story more than makes up for it. Puberty, while an easy target for a story such as this, is very well explored here and a brilliant choice when you consider the audience. Kids will love the sillier characters (although none of them could match the brilliance that was Bing Bong with Bloofy, voiced by Ron Funches, being more nightmare fuel than anything else) while teens and adults will be nodding along in agreement as they relate to Riley's struggles. The ending is also classic Pixar gold, evoking all the right emotions (no pun intended). All of which is to say Inside Out 2 does a solid job of recapturing the magic of the first film.
Vibrant animation, solid voice performances, a zippy pace and emotionally impactful, it's the kind of sequel viewers can get a lot out of rewatching as time goes by. And unlike the poor and admittedly funny Nostalgia (perfect casting choice in June Squibb) viewers can revisit this movie time and time again whenever we need a fun and heartfelt reminder of what it was like to be a teen again.
Sommer's Score: 7.5 out of 10
And you can check out more Pixar content below:
ELEMENTAL LACKS THAT BASIC PIXAR MAGIC
TURNING RED IS PIXAR OF A DIFFERENT COLOUR
FINDING DORY IS GREAT FAMILY FUN IN 4 SLICES
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I'll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment