Pixar’s ‘Inside Out 2’ Taps Into Societal Issue: Crippling Anxiety

When Inside Out was released in Summer 2015, it was a new plateau for Disney's Pixar studio. The movie somehow visualized complex concepts like conflicting feelings, abstract thinking, the ephemerality of memory and the absurdity of intrusive thoughts.

It concluded with an acceptance of mixed emotions, a triumph of childhood development and increased maturity. So the story ends there, right? Well, in Inside Out 2 hitting theaters next summer, the lead (human) character Riley is now a 13-year-old girl, so with that comes puberty and (if you, grown-up reader, recall) an avalanche of new and complicated emotions.

The first one we meet (though several are teased in the first trailer) is Anxiety. Here she is below.

The short trailer visualizes the flood of physiological and psychological changes as a wrecking crew busts into the mental workshop where the emotions we already know (Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust) have worked up a kind of harmony. The chaos is represented on the soundtrack by Ozzy Osbourne's classic 1980 heavy metal track "Crazy Train."

Inside Out 2 was directed by Kelsey Mann, her first feature after working in the story department at Pixar on several shorts and The Good Dinosaur. Amy Poehler has returned to voice Joy, as has Phyllis Smith for Sadness and Lewis Black for Anger. Tony Hale has replaced Bill Hader as Fear, and Liza Lapira has replaced Mindy Kaling as Disgust. (Voices do change as one gets older!) Maya Hawke is also new to the crew with this one, as Anxiety.

The new film will be out in "Summer 2024" as per a press release. Considering the first movie made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, it's likely we'll see a repeat next May.