It has taken nearly a decade, but the follow up to Disney and Pixar’s 2015 animated hit, Inside Out, is finally ready to hit theaters with a June 14 release date. And after the first movie became a major hit with both fans and critics on the strength of five main character emotions the first time around, Inside Out 2 is taking things up a notch by introducing several new emotions into the mix.
Inside Out 2 is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The sequel finds the young midwestern transplant, Riley, still living in San Francisco and now a full blown teenager. She's experiencing teenager things and ready to emote all the new emotions that come with it, including anxiety, envy, ennui and embarrassment.
Inside Out 2 marks the feature directorial debut for Kelsey Mann, who initially introduced nine new emotions for the sequel, before eventually trimming it down to five. Here’s a look at the original five emotions, including a couple voice cast changes, and a breakdown of all the new emotions being introduced in the upcoming movie that we know about, based on the official trailer and other news.
Too Long, Didn’t Read Summary:
• Inside Out 2, the sequel to the Academy Award-winning animated Inside Out from Disney and Pixar, is finally hitting theaters after nearly a decade.
• Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black reprise their roles as Joy, Sadness and Anger, respectively. But Tony Hale is now the voice of Fear, replacing Bill Hader, and Liza Lapira replaced Mindy Kaling as the voice of Disgust.
• The sequel will introduce at least five new emotions for the main character, 13-year-old Riley, including Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Nostalgia (June Squibb) and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), aka boredom.
Original Emotions Refresher
The first trip viewers took into Riley’s mind in the Oscar-winning Inside Out introduced Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Bill Hader as Fear, Lewis Black as Anger and Mindy Kaling as Disgust. The movie follows Joy and Sadness on a hard journey to rediscover happiness after an 11-year-old Riley has her life turned upside down when her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco. That leaves Anger, Fear and Disgust left to navigate Riley's life.
And while those same five emotions will all be back, the voice cast has changed. Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black have all returned, but Tony Hale is now the voice of Fear, replacing Hader, and Liza Lapira has replaced Mindy Kaling as the voice of Disgust.
The New Emotions
As Riley’s personality begins to change for Inside Out 2, so will the emotional occupants in Riley’s head. The new phase in her life will introduce more complex emotions that will help make her foray into being a teenager anything but smooth sailing.
Anxiety
An orange emotion voiced by Maya Hawke, the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman who's best known for her roles in the TV series Stranger Things and movies like Maestro and Asteroid City. As Riley deals with things like trying to make new friends while still pleasing old friends, she will emote more and more anxiety.
Envy
A cyan colored emotion voiced by Ayo Edebiri, who recently won an Emmy Award for her performance on the TV series The Bear. It’s common for teenagers to want what other teens have, and according to the trailer, Riley will be no exception.
Ennui
An indigo-colored emotion that's also known as boredom. Adèle Exarchopoulos, best known for starring in Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013), provides the voice for this character, which will most likely bring a little comic relief as Riley does what most teenagers do – which is to say, nothing at all. But this emotion may also play into themes of teenage apathy that the film will tackle.
Embarrassment
A pink emotion voiced by Paul Walter Hauser, an award-winning actor from the 2022 miniseries Black Bird. As Riley attempts to fall in with the cool crowd in Inside Out 2, there will be plenty of opportunities for her to emote embarrassment.
Nostalgia
A brown emotion voiced by 94-year-old actress June Squibb, who also lent her voice to the Pixar sequel Toy Story 4 (2019). Not much is known yet about how Nostalgia will play into the film, but considering teenagers don’t generally lean into nostalgia very often, Nostalgia’s involvement will most likely be based in humor.
Also joining the cast is Ron Funches as Bloofy, a character from Riley's favorite childhood TV show and perhaps a replacement for fan-favorite character Bing Bong from the first movie. And Pixar mainstay John Ratzenberger lends his voice to Fritz, the actor's first role in a Pixar film since Onward (2020).
