As many others did I went to see Inside Out 2 recently and it did not disappoint.

Pixar always uses beautiful animation, so that wasn’t my main focus, although it should be noted that the animation was fab. I was more concerned with the story itself which was interesting.

I loved the concept of the first film and I was interested to see how they would adapt this for a second one. I thought the premise of Riley growing up and having new emotions was inspired as it felt the somewhat childish feel of the first film was gone, with more complex emotions and a more complicated plot.

My favourite new emotion was embarrassment, who played quite a key role in helping sadness but also had the same element of embracing these more uncomfortable emotions as sadness did in the first film. I felt a mixture of love and hate for anxiety (which was probably the point) but I thought they did a great job at representing the experience of anxiety. Ennui was a funny addition, as was envy, and I thought the idea of a sense of self and belief was inspired.

I think the film was enjoyable, albeit tinged with sadness and a sense that as you grow up you do feel less joy (which was said at one point in the film and the cinema collectively sighed). However, I am not sure how much children, who the film is aimed for, will actually resonate with it. Yes, the film deals with a young main character in Riley and the move up to secondary school, I think many of the ideas were actually more complex and aimed at someone slightly older who has already been through those experiences. I think the bright colours, fun animation and jokes made will certainly enthral children but I think they won’t quite understand the complexity of the film just yet.

I think they have left it open for a third one, with sneak peaks of a new emotion- nostalgia, so maybe even more complex emotions will be incorporated as Riley gets older. I’d definitely be eager to see what they did with a third film!

I love animated films, and inside out 2 definitely lived up to the hype of the first, so go and give it a watch.

Yours, JustJasLettering xxx