'Inside Out 2' Is Already Successful Despite Major Cast Exit, Everything We Know

Pixar Animation Studios is one of the most beloved animation studios in the world. From the Toy Story franchise to movies like A Bug’s Life (1998), Cars (2006), Ratatouille (2007), Up (2009), and The Incredibles 2 (2018), Pixar has entertained generations, and next year it will bring back a classic team of characters in Inside Out 2 (2024).

Pixar and Inside Out

What is Inside Out?

From Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Inside Out (2015) is a coming-of-age story focusing on a young girl’s emotions as she navigates childhood. Featuring five emotions — Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger — and a plethora of other characters like Bing Bong, Riley’s imaginary friend, Inside Out centers on Riley’s relationship with her parents as they move house from Minnesota to San Francisco.

Who is in the cast of Inside Out?

Inside Out includes the vocal talents of Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Bill Hader as Fear, and Lewis Black as Anger. Other actors involved with Inside Out include Kaitlyn Dias as Riley, Diane Lane as Riley’s mother, Kyle MacLachlan as Riley’s father, and Richard Kind as Bing Bong.

Was Inside Out a success?

Directed by Peter Docter, with a screenplay by Docter, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley, Inside Out is one of Pixar’s most successful and beloved films, garnering a staggering $858 million at the global box office. Michael Giacchino provided music for the animated movie, while Jonas Rivera produced it.

Inside Out was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 88th Academy Awards, going on to win the coveted Oscar trophy.

Everything We Know About Inside Out 2

When is Inside Out 2 coming out?

At the D23 Expo 2022, Inside Out director and current Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Pete Docter, announced multiple new projects, including the now-delayed Elio (2025), starring Ugly Betty‘s America Ferrera. Shortly before wrapping up, Joy voice actress Amy Poehler commandeered the stage to announce Inside Out 2.

Poehler revealed that the original film’s emotions would be back, and this time, the story would center on Riley being a teenager. The premise is likely to divide viewers, considering the focus on a teenager’s emotions in last year’s Turning Red (2022) caused an uproar.

At present, and despite industry-wide delays due to the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, Inside Out 2 is scheduled to open in the Summer of 2024, on June 14. The summer slot this year was held by Pixar’s sleeper hit, Elemental (2023).

Who is in Inside Out 2?

Inside Out 2 will see the return of Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger. While Disgust and Fear are back for the Inside Out sequel, Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader will not be returning to voice their respective roles from the original film.

Reports surfaced last September about potential contractual issues being the reason the pair will not be returning for the Pixar movie, with a matter of pay being alleged by outlets. According to one report, Saturday Night Live star Amy Poehler was receiving $5 million to voice Joy plus bonuses, while Kaling and Hader were only earning $100,000 for their parts, with no bonuses.

Joining the original five emotions are new ones, including Stranger Things star Maya Hawke as Anxiety — who appears for the first time in the new teaser trailer. Director Kelsey Mann, who is making his directorial debut with Inside Out 2, said that “Anxiety […] might be new to the crew, but she’s not really the type to take a back seat [and] that makes a lot of sense if you think about it in terms of what goes on inside all our minds.”

While we do not have proper first looks at the other emotions, the new poster features four characters hiding beneath the original five, one of which is Hawke’s Anxiety. Upon closer reading of the trailer, it seems these new emotions will be Embarrassed, Ennui, and Envious. The text’s color perfectly matches the colors of these new emotion characters.

Is there a trailer for Inside Out 2?

Yes, there is a teaser trailer. And rather celebratory for Pixar Animation Studios and The Walt Disney Company in that the trailer has amassed 157 million views in 24 hours, beating out the record previously held by the Frozen II (2019) trailer. You can view it here:

“Inside Out 2 returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions!” reads the official Pixar Animation Studios synopsis. “Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.”

You can stream Disney and Pixar’s classic library of movies, from Toy Story (1995) to Elemental (2023), and everything in between right now on Disney+.

Will you be heading to the movie theater to see Inside Out 2? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!