2023 certainly was a challenging year for Walt Disney Company entertainment with box office flops like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Wish, and Indiana Jones 5. However, while there may be several leading causes for the failure of these movies, many Disney fans are hoping for a break from the negativity surrounding Disney entertainment, myself included. Disney CEO Bob Iger has recently come out and made a statement regarding the future of Disney's entertainment, assuring audiences and the media that The Walt Disney Company is now planning to focus less on messaging and quantity of content and more on the quality storytelling that so many people have grown to love.
With the upcoming release of Inside Out 2, I wanted to share some of my thoughts regarding what we know so far regarding the movie itself and what this success could do for the Disney company moving forward.
The story of Inside Out ended with Riley adjusting to her new life in San Francisco, California, having made new friends, Emotion Headquarters running smoother than ever, and a renewed relationship with her parents. However, following the recent release of Inside Out 2's official trailer, we were finally given a sneak peek into Riley's new life as she navigates through the ups and downs of puberty. Along with Riley experiencing the regular challenges of teenhood, such as braces, acne, new friends, and love interests, Emotion Headquarters welcomes the arrival of 4, yes four, new complex emotions: Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy, and Ennui (boredom). Unfortunately for Riley's core emotions, these new characters, particularly Anxiety, aren't happy with how the core emotions are managing teen Riley's unpredictable emotional state. As the trailer concludes, we see Anxiety employing the help of her fellow complex emotions to bottle up Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, and Anger to prevent them from intervening in the takeover of Emotion Headquarters. The two-and-a-half-minute-long trailer ends after a witty joke between two characters, and we're left with plenty of unanswered questions regarding the chaotic state of Riley's teen mind.
This trailer certainly surprised me, especially watching the takeover of the complex emotions. Based on the teaser trailer alone, I was expecting business as usual, with Joy and the other core emotions leading Emotion Headquarters alongside a couple of new emotions. However, with the more fleshed-out introduction of these four witty and complex additions, I'm fully expecting Inside Out 2 to be an emotional rollercoaster.
The animation for this movie already looks like a step up from Inside Out, with even more vibrant colors, unique characters, and intricate CG details that we've come to expect from Disney and Pixar animated movies than ever before. As an artist and writer, I'm hoping Inside Out 2 will deliver on the creative and deeply emotional story characteristic of the original with plenty of heartwarming and tear-jerking moments.
Thankfully, most of the original cast has returned to reprise their roles in Inside Out 2. However, I will admit, I'm a bit disappointed Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader did not reprise their roles as Fear and Disgust for the sequel. Their reasons for not returning are understandably due to contract disputes, but I'm sure replacement actors Liza Lapira and Tony Hale will do a fantastic job playing their characters. Based on trailer footage alone, I could barely tell the difference between Lapira and Hale's voice acting compared to Kaling and Hader's.
The positive media attention this sequel has already garnered makes me optimistic for its box-office performance. 2023 was the first year since 2014 that the Walt Disney Company failed to produce a film that reached their usually expected 1 billion dollar revenue point at the box office. This resulted in the media virtually slamming them for their losses and forcing the studio to reevaluate the upcoming projects they were planning to finance. The studio has already canceled several upcoming Disney+, animated, Star Wars, and Marvel projects. With the recent announcement of the upcoming release of sequel movies like Zootopia 2, Frozen 3, and Toy Story 5, it appears the company is shifting its focus back to guaranteed successful projects. Depending on if Inside Out 2 has a successful box office performance, it could mean the Walt Disney Company is finally back on the right track entertainment-wise post-pandemic.
Releasing June 14th (my birthday), I'm really looking forward to seeing this sequel in theaters opening weekend and experiencing Inside Out 2 on the big screen. Watching the first film, Inside Out, in theaters at ten years old, I've come full circle. I'm excited to see the continuation of Riley's story now that I've graduated high school and lived through the ups and downs of teenage girlhood myself. If you're planning to see this film in theaters, I'd bring some tissues. It's sure to get emotional.
Link to Inside Out 2 teaser trailer: https://youtu.be/VWavstJydZU?si=erEL4Gg9Kepxr3LZ
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