Los Angeles, June 16, 2024 – Don’t be afraid of feelings. “Inside Out 2” by Disney and Pixar has just scored the highest-grossing opening day at the US box office of the year so far, earning a spectacular sum of $62 million on Friday alone and preview screenings from 4,440 locations. He will have no problem surpassing the $82.5 million he earned from “Dune: Part Two” to become the biggest U.S. debut of 2024. It will also be the first release to hit a nine-figure debut in nearly 11 months — the last to top $100 million was “Barbie” last summer. It’s a welcome return for Pixar Animation Studios, which has struggled at the box office in recent years after Disney released films like “Turning Red,” “Soul” and “Luca” directly to Disney+ during the Covid pandemic. a decision made by Pixar.
But what is the secret of “Inside Out 2”? It’s anxiety. “If you’ve seen ‘Inside Out’ (2015), your tear ducts will already be ready for the sequel. The original film centers on the life of Riley, a cute and courageous, if decidedly ordinary, 11-year-old girl _ writes the New York Times _ . What sets Riley apart is that his inner workings are portrayed as an elaborate realm with characters who embody his core emotions. For much of her life, those emotions were orchestrated by Joy (voiced in the original by Amy Poehler). Once Riley’s parents move the family to a new city, however, Sadness (Phyllis Smith) steps in and our girl spirals into depression. This being the wonderful world of Pixar, the emotions eventually find a new harmonious balance and Riley becomes a happy little girl again.”
“At the beginning of ‘Inside Out 2,’ Joy is still struggling with Sadness, Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale) e Disgust (Liza Lapira) inside the headquarters placed in his brain. It is here, in the center of Riley’s mind–a labyrinthine, ingeniously detailed expanse that is part playground, part industrial park–that her ‘anthropomorphic’ feelings monitor her on an enormous oval screen, as if they were standing behind her her her eyes her. They track, manage and sometimes interrupt her thoughts and actions, using a control console, which resembles an audio mixer and becomes more complex as Riley grows. At the end of the first film, a mysterious new labeled button materialized on the console ‘puberty’; right after the sequel opened, that button turned into a constantly lit red alert.”
“Puberty triggers problems for Riley (Kensington Tallman) in ‘Inside Out 2’ _ the review continues New York Times _, some of it very touching, most of it unsurprising. It’s been almost a decade since the first film was released, but the opening moment of the film is magical and shortly after the story begins Riley is blowing out the candles on his 13th birthday cake with metal braces on her teeth and a stubborn pimple on her chin. New emotions soon arrive driven by Anxiety (Maya Hawke), carrot-colored with quivering eyebrows and hair standing on end. Not long after, Ansia takes command of both the console and Riley, with the help of Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) e Boredom (Adèle Exarchopoulos) tired and with a French accent.”
Directed by Kelsey Mann, This smooth, linear sequel focuses largely on Riley’s unnerving interlude at a girls’ hockey camp, an episode that separates her from her parents while bringing her new friends, feelings, and choices. As in the first film, the story shifts constantly between what happens in Riley’s head and what happens as she faces the world. Her new emotions find her worried, complaining, blushing and feignedly indifferent, while Joy and the rest of her older emotions are beaten by her new ones, not without humor.
“As he struggles with his new emotions _ the ‘New York Times’ writes again _ the film shifts gears little by little. Riley may be a teenager overwhelmed by new sensations and bodily feelings, but the people who made this film tiptoe through this stage of development as if they were doting parents, who aren’t ready to let their girl grow up. To that end, Riley doesn’t have her period, she doesn’t run away from home, she doesn’t have a crush. She also doesn’t stare at her phone, as the hockey coach has, in a narratively convenient move, commandeered the girls’ phones. Riley was a nice, normal girl; she still is. It turns out that the group hug she shared with her parents in the first film wasn’t just sweet, it was also a statement of Pixar principles.”
