Pixar Showcased the First 30 Minutes of ‘Inside Out 2’ and Riley’s Teenage Drama is Full of New Emotions

A few weeks ago, I returned to Pixar Headquarters. The purpose? Well, the folks at Disney and Pixar were keen to unveil the first 30 minutes of their latest feature, Inside Out 2. The film hits theaters on June 14th, so we’re still a ways away, but with Pixar deep into post-production and putting the finishing touches on the Inside Out sequel, they were very eager to share what they’ve been up to. Now, having seen the first third or so of the flick, I can say that I’m excited as well. More below, but the biggest compliment I can give the creative forces here is that when the preview ended, I legitimately was bummed that we weren’t going to get to find out what happens next.

What we saw picks up right after Inside Out, with Riley playing hockey with her best friends. The emotions inside of her, Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness, are in a real groove. Then, right as Riley is starting a weekend hockey camp before starting high school, they’re woken up by a demolition crew in the control room. They’re doing a teardown to make room for puberty to begin, which includes the introduction new emotions. Led by Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Envy are here for Riley’s more complicated new existence. The close of Act One finds our heroes removed from control by Anxiety and needing to get back to the console.

The themes present in the movie will undoubtedly resonate with teen girls, but everyone should be able to get in on the feels. I found myself not quite choked up early on, but with a definite sense of emotion, no pun intended, watching Riley as a young woman. She’s conflicted by the changes, but watching her navigate is going to be, I think, fairly powerful. We get a little hint of how the new emotions impact her, but the film does seem to be saving the meat and potatoes of it for the rest of the story. That being said, what I saw was an excellent taste.

Visually, Inside Out 2 looks great, with all of the added polish that comes with this being almost a decade after the first film. Riley, especially, looks like a teenager, with all that comes with that. It’s Pixar, so the animation is at the cutting edge, but it completely feels like Inside Out, which is crucial. It needs to look better and evolve with the technological times, but not abandon what worked the first time. From what I say, they’ve succeeded quite well.

As for the new emotions, the highlight is obviously Maya Hawke‘s Anxiety, who is going to be a central piece of the story. She’s a bundle of energy and I was really taken by her. The other new emotions are voiced by Ayo Edebiri (Envy), Adèle Exarchopoulos (Ennui), and Paul Walter Hauser (Embarrassment). They fit right in, as do Tony Hale (taking over as Fear) and Liza Lapira (taking over as Disgust). Amy Poehler remains the star, obviously, and she hasn’t missed a beat playing Joy.

I’ll be sharing more from my time at Pixar next month, including an interview with director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Nielsen, as well as something very cool I participated in on Pixar’s campus. For now, just know that they seem to be brewing up a film that can stand toe to toe with Inside Out, while pushing the emotions even further. If this is truly the studio’s first movie for teenagers, then sign me up!

Stay tuned for more on Inside Out 2!