Del revés 2

When I first heard that Pixar was making a sequel film, I was very excited as I simply adored the last one. I saw the trailer and thought that it looked good for a current movie. I went to see it with high expectations, and I came out sobbing from how personal it felt to me.

For some context about me, I had terrible anxiety for years until I finally healed from it and watching the film from that perspective made it very personal. I found myself teary at a few of the lines that Anxiety said just because I had said them to myself in the past. The film portrayed accurate depictions of teenage life, from struggling to fit in, those feelings associated with friends going away, thinking less of yourself etc... One scene I found especially hard to cope with and that got me SOBBING just because it gave me time to reflect on how I used to be.

Personal feelings aside, this film was really amazing. The animation was incredible, and the plot was surprisingly good. I loved the new emotions and its just as good as the first one (almost better)

I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is one of the best Pixar movies to date. I did not expect to like this movie very much. Disney and Pixar have been vastly disappointing and even controversial recently, but Inside Out 2 rivals Pixar's best movies like Up, Monsters inc., Ratatouille, The Incredibles and Toy Story in quality.

I found the story very moving. The best animated movies ever made appeal not just to children, but resonate with the more mature audience as well. And that's what this movie does.

The theme was very poignant. I loved the introduction of the new characters and especially how they incorporated anxiety into the transformation of puberty. Anxiety is not fun, but many people struggle with it.

The ending was great too. I love that they didn't wrap it up in a cliche way.

Great job Disney and Pixar!

All in all, while "Inside Out 2" has a good concept and loveable characters, it is not perfect. Promoted as an entertaining event that lasts one and a half hours, it has a problem with a story. It introduces Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear again who travel through teenage Riley's mind, but it is not as profound as the first movie. While pacing appears to be slow with large chunks where not much story occurs and the audience is not able to form a bond with the character. Although the first film was emotional and deeply meaningful, "Inside Out 2" lacks a single, overarching message compared to its predecessor. The humor and warmth are insufficient to make up for the shoddy plot, even though some of the animation and voice acting are excellent. Younger audiences will find it entertaining, but it falls short of the first film's potential, which will disappoint some viewers who were hoping for yet another heartwarming tale.

What we have here feels like a cheap copy of the first film. Except where the first Inside Out was filled with 'magic' and 'wonder', this one is replaced with lacklustre moments and uninspired inserts. The train of thought becomes the stream of consciousness. The core memories are now core beliefs. And where in the first film, Riley must grapple with her entire known world collapsing beneath her - she now must grapple with going to a new high school without her middle school friends.

The movie isn't exactly bad, but it feels cheaper in comparison. Even the lessons learned are important in this movie. Don't let anxiety control your brain.

But isn't that what we learned from the first film? We saw Joy trying to be a control freak - and - what do you know - in this film, Anxiety turns into a control freak, causing a bunch of chaos for Riley.

What's more, the new emotions seemed like lesser versions of the original emotions. Fear becomes Anxiety. Disgust becomes Envy. Sadness becomes Embarrassment and Ennui.

It's just too bad that the first movie came out of seemingly nowhere and told a unique and loveable story with lessons for all ages, and in its sequel, we have a movie that feels half-baked and lacks as many whimsical/playful ideas as the first.

The movie wasn't as fun or meaningful as the first. Even the new characters felt gimmicky and lazily imported. A children's cartoon and a video game character show up. Sure they were amusing but they added very little to the story, unlike Bingbong in the first.

Let me start off by congratulating Pixar on yet another exhilarating achievement. Many people are wondering why they are having this kind of astronomical success at the box office. Simply put, millions of people out there were able to form a deep bond with the first film throughout the nine years following its 2015 release. Myself included, as the whole reason I created my imdb account that same year, was to drop a rate of 10/10 without ever even trying to justify it. Beautifully done worldbuilding by the legendary Pete Docter. Such a sophisticated film that will be talked about and praised through countless generations.

Having said all that, let's discuss the possible reasons Inside Out 2 might not have stuck its landing the way a lot of fans of the original may have wanted to. Let's just be upfront about it: the rhythm and pacing this time around are not very good. To elaborate on that, the sequencing of events seemed to have been oversimplified to fit into the 90 minute runtime the Pixar team aimed for. Moreover, the overall product feels rushed, without giving the audience enough time to develop feelings and emotional bonds towards what is happening as the scenes unpack in real time. To describe it in the way I came out of the movie theater like: "Man, is it over already?" The movie doesn't take its time to make us care for what the Emotions or Riley are going through. Without getting into spoilers, I feel like the movie fails to convey the complex emotions the movie is based around, and after having watched the trailers, one can already picture the type of climax and the way the film expects us to get attached to the characters at the end. But don't get it wrong, this film still manages to evoke certain emotions (although not as strong as the ones evoked in the first movie), which is a Pixar guarantee at this point. But still, despite all of its efforts to connect with the audience, I felt a little detached when the credits started rolling.

All in all, this really feels like a watered down version of what Pixar probably had in mind and due to the actors strikes and all those issues outside of their control, could have played a role in propelling this seemingly rushed product. Not trying to justify the movie's shortcomings, but you have to be fair when criticizing.

Let's not fool ourselves, there are some brilliant elements that I feel like they barely scratched the surface on and I'm hoping to see them properly developed one day.

It pains me, as I've always considered Inside Out (2015) my absolute favorite animated movie, and I know, you should never seek for perfection specially when it comes to sequels, but it still left me somewhat disappointed that it didn't receive the same level of care that the first one did.

Overall 7/10 Good but not especial.