Details from IMDB:
A sequel that features Riley entering puberty and experiencing brand new, more complex emotions as a result. As Riley tries to adapt to her teenage years, her old emotions try to adapt to the possibility of being replaced.
Initial Thoughts:
We saw the first “Inside Out” in theatres, in fact it was long enough ago that we took my niece to it (she’s 14 now!) so there was never any doubt I’d see the sequel, it was just a matter of time. Pixar does excellent movies (with a couple of exceptions) and I was looking forward to see what they did here.
Main Points:
Animation here is, of course, amazing. There are parts where I wish I had seen it in theatre as a TV can’t capture the scale and beauty of it. Excellent voice work, great story that is simple and I really appreciate how the run time is just a little bit over the 1.5 hour mark, I often think this is just the right amount of time for a movie. Riley is growing up and this movie deals with the new emotions, and her struggle to find her authentic self, as puberty starts for her. As always Pixar does a great job pulling on your heart strings and there are some truly touching moments here, as always I’d recommend watching this yourself or at least with someone who will be on their phone so they don’t see you get emotional.
Final Thoughts:
I haven’t been 13 in a long time (almost 40 years!) but this movie takes me right back and it reminds me about how hard it can be to stay true to yourself and your friends. The world is always changing, we are too and this movie really shows how Riley comes with growing up and unexpected changes in her life. I loved this movie and while I didn’t see every animated movie from ’25, I would have picked this one or “The Wild Robot”. I give it a very solid 8.5 out of 10, it is a tiny bit slow at the beginning but overall another great offering from Pixar. Once more I can say kid friendly! Apparently this movie is also great if you want to avoid the puberty talk with your kids, I can neither confirm or deny if that is a good idea. Ages 10+, so not for small children.