It’s time to grow up again–fans are just two months away from seeing the teenager-focused sequel to Inside Out (2015) in movie theaters worldwide. We’re here to give you the insider scoop after a few lucky fans got a behind-the-scenes look into the making of Inside Out 2 (2024).
Inside Out 2 sees the “newly-minted teenager” Riley dealing with puberty and all the emotions that come with it. Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust are interrupted when a set of new emotions bursts in, led by Anxiety. “Anxiety…might be new to the crew, but she’s not really the type to take a back seat,” said director Kelsey Mann. “That makes a lot of sense if you think about it in terms of what goes on inside all our minds.”
Amy Poehler (Joy), Phyllis Smith (Sadness), and Lewis Black (Anger) will reprise their roles. Mindy Kaling (Disgust) and Bill Hader (Fear) declined to return to Pixar Animation Studios after an alleged pay discrepancy between castmates. Liza Lapira and Tony Hale are replacing Kaling and Hader, and Maya Hawke lends her voice to the new emotion, Anxiety. Other newcomers include Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser).

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Pixar Post recently visited Pixar Animation Studios and asked Mann what he could say about the highly anticipated sequel. The director couldn’t reveal too much about Inside Out 2 but shared some of what was left behind on the cutting room floor.
Chiefly, writers, storyboard artists, and animators struggled to narrow the list of new emotions. They started with nine, combining and cutting characters like Guilt, Jealousy, and Schadenfreude.
Mann also shared a gag he wished had been made into the final cut. Animators designed a “Procrastination Land” with the motto “Always Under Construction.”

Deciding what to cut from a movie you’ve worked so hard on is like choosing your favorite child! To simplify the process, the team recruited a panel of experts on transitioning from girlhood to the turbulent teenage years.
Mann and Producer Mark Nielsen assembled “Riley’s Crew,” a team of nine teenage girls who visited Pixar Animation Studios every four months to screen and critique the newest version of the film.
The Pixar Post team viewed 30 minutes of Inside Out 2 and commended the girls for their contributions: “[They] must have given great notes and were an asset to the team, as the teenage-heightened and mellow emotions are perfection in the film.”

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Viewers should expect Pixar’s typical silliness and clever gags, but Mann told Pixar Post that at its core, Inside Out 2 tackles something every fan has felt in their lifetime.
“The film is all about acceptance,” she said. “Learning to love who you are despite your flaws. You don’t need to be perfect in order to be loved. That is the foundation of the film.”
Inside Out 2 premieres on June 14, 2024. Watch a teaser trailer below:
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