There’s a lot riding on the fragile shoulders of Riley, the lovable protagonist of Disney/Pixar’s new animated feature Inside Out 2, which opens nationwide this Friday. Directed by first-time helmer Kelsey Mann, produced by Mark Nielsen and exec produced by Pixar chief Pete Docter, Jonas Rivera and Dan Scanlon, the movie explores what happens to Riley (Kensington Talman) when she experiences puberty and a whole new set of emotions, including Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser).
The movie, which is set to play in 4,300 theaters will have preview showings at 3 p.m. today. The first Inside Out movie had a $90.4 million opening in 2015 and went on make $356.9 million in the U.S. and $858.8 million worldwide. Industry observers are estimating the movie will generate close to $135 million worldwide at the box office in its opening weekend. [According to the latest projections, the movie might deliver $85 million to $90 million in the U.S. alone.] Animation lovers are also crossing their fingers that the movie will firm up everyone’s faith in the magic of Pixar.
So far, the movie has been receiving great reviews from critics around the country. On Thursday, Pixar’s 28th movie was shining with a 93% score on the critic consensus site Rotten Tomatoes. Most critics praised the film’s bright color palette, heartwarming storyline and the clever addition of hilarious new emotions, while a few grouches complained that the external plot involving Riley’s acceptance by her new hockey team members could have been less predictable. Here is a quick sampler of what they had to say:
“Works largely because the first one does wonderfully well. The new movie conforms to the original’s ethos as well as inventive template, its conceit and visual design, so its pleasures are agreeably familiar.”
— Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
“Inside Out 2 marks a triumphant creative return for Pixar, bringing off the thing that this studio, at its best, has done better than anyone: finding the sweet spot that merges the gaze of children and adults. The movie is really about the micro choices we all make to sculpt our personalities. Will we allow our anxiety to be greater than our joy? Will we let our need to belong overwhelm who we are? The film answers that in a way that’s heady enough to already leave you eager for another sequel, one that charts the storm inside Riley as she grows up.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“The story beats, action sequences and sentimental moments — Joy’s despair when she’s out of ideas is quite touching — are expertly fine-tuned, and the dazzling visuals no less so.”
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“The film’s visual complexity isn’t matched by the actual journey the core emotions take back to the forefront of Riley’s mind, which can’t help but feel like a more convoluted retread of the first Inside Out’s abstract buddy comedy.”
— Justin Clark, Slant Magazine
Nothing in Inside Out 2 matches the gut-punch of Bing-Bong’s sacrifice in the first movie, although Riley’s climactic self-image, a mixture of both Joy and Anxiety’s handiwork, brought my inner Verklempt emotion to the foreground.
— Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
