Inside Out 2 - To Mature Is to Lose Joy
Thoughts On: Inside Out 2 (2024)
Now 13, Riley must confront puberty and continued change.
Inside Out 2 is, structurally, aesthetically, tonally and in regards to world building, exactly on par with the first. It is a tremendous extension of the life and world established in what I'd honestly consider to be one of Disney's best works from the last decade. Its only minor weakness: it is a narrative reflection of the first and so the plotting is not as fresh and surprising. Nonetheless, in the familiarity is comfortable brilliance and Inside Out 2 had me strung hard. Where the first Inside Out establishes the notion that ones emotions should not possess and cannot define them, much rather must guide and support the individual, this second installation extends and nuances this idea by cementing the spirit of an individual (Riley) over the emotions. It is beyond endearing to then see Riley develop in relation to her interiority and grow into an ever more complex being through a journey of humorous signification and visual metaphor. The interplay between visual expression and textual meaning is very strong, it must be noted. So inasmuch as the emotional substance of the narrative strikes the younger audience well (my little sister absolutely loved the film) there is so much layered into this that the grown audience that has been through puberty can understand all too well. Such makes Inside Out 2 a smash of a familial drama; a beautiful extension of an ingenious world and a tremendous watch.
