Inside Out 2

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!

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.

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.

I am honestly surprised at seeing the amount of high ratings of 9s and 10s in the reviews making me question if we watched the same film or not.

Maybe I'm getting old and I'm not the target audience of these kinds of movies anymore, or maybe I was just too sleepy when watching this, but unlike the first one, I did not like this one much. It is not insultingly bad or anything, after all, I'm giving it an above average rating.

This movie compared to the first doesn't have the soul and emotional connection you'd expect. This movie in my opinion is just another unnecessary sequel solely made for grabbing cash, and cash grab it did.

The first problem with the movie is the pacing. The story is incredibly rushed even though it has the same runtime as the first, so it's weird how everything feels like needed more time to develop, while everything in the first felt adequate and enough. The addition of the new characters definitely needed a lot more time.

At the same time, nothing that interesting happened here in my opinion, and made the whole thing boring for me. The sense of exploration of different parts of Riley's mind from the first movie is gone and the film is more focused on the real-life story, so the whole Joy and the gang going through the mind is just that, a simple road trip story. Nothing interesting or of note happens there. I don't remember a single scene in this movie that stood out to me as interesting or creative at all, while I still remember Bing Bong, them going through that train station or room that changed their animation style, the scene of them messing with Riley's dreams and many more.

Just so much happened in the first film that it feels like that movie was over 2 hours. But I just did not find a single scene in this movie note-worthy.

The next problem for me is that I just don't care about these characters here, especially the new ones. There is no emotional connection, unlike the first movie. The real-life struggles of Riley in the first film were more relatable and the whole Joy realizing Sandness is necessary and the Bing Bong storyline were the soul of that film and made you actually care and have an emotional connection to them. This is nonexistent in this sequel.

It doesn't feel like they had an idea for a story and decided to make a movie about it, it feels more like a studio-mandated sequel that they tried to come up with a story afterward. The plot of this movie is so boring and so few things happen here that it feels like I'm watching Inside Out: The Series and just watching a random episode where Riley needs to get on the cool hockey team.

I understand that someone would like this, especially the younger generation, but what I don't get are the 9s and 10s, because this is so obviously and clearly inferior to the first film in many aspects that I don't understand how someone can say this is on the same level or even better than the first!

Overall, the movie is not that bad if you don't have anything better to watch, but I am disappointed that this movie did nothing for me after going in having seen the high ratings and the reviews. It is an example of an unnecessary cash-grab sequel. Inside Out is one I consider one of Pixar's greats and will rewatch it if I feel like it because it's a really enjoyable, deep, emotional, innovative, creative, and beautiful film. Very rewatchable. But Inside Out 2? I don't think I'll ever rewatch this one, one time was more than enough.

Inside Out 2 talks about "growing up" in an emotional way and depicts how growing up is challenging inside our thoughts. The film introduces the emotions we had from the previous movie: Joy, Anger, Sadness, Fear and Disgust. We are also introduced to new emotions: embarrassment, Ennui (boredom), Envy and Anxiety.

Riley is about to go to high school but the story focuses on her preparation to officially join the FogHorn Hockey team. As the story progresses, Riley finds herself challenged with her hopes to join the team. Her friendship was wounded, her emotions went all over the place and the pressure got into her head. But eventually, everything goes into their proper places.

This sequel film may be animated and made for kids but as an adult, it just hits differently. I can say that this film was partially made for adults and for anyone who is in a bad mental situation. It reminds its viewers how growing older can be tough, how overthinking affects everything else, how decisions that are made today may affect what's next. But it is also a strong reminder that problems, fear, worries and anxieties will come. They are all inevitable but everything will pass. Take a deep breath, stay calm and do not overstress everything. Having a calm mind also affects the way we think. We may feel pressure at any given time but we have to sit back and relax.

Do not overstress things at the present. Live at the moment. The future is there but we live at the present, right here, right now. Enjoy life. Remember that you are not alone on whatever you are facing. Keep your friends and family close. And finally, God is always with us.

Inside Out 2 is a great film. Every audience will have a different way of enjoying this but just remember, you are who you are. Embrace yourself.

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