Pixar Releases Inside Out 2 Trailer, Featuring New "Anxiety" Emotion
By Harper Lawson
December 7, 2023
Image Credit: Photo by Max Cortex for Unsplash
Pixar Animation Studios released the trailer for Inside Out 2 on Nov. 9, the highly-anticipated sequel to 2015’s Inside Out, a coming-of-age, animated film featuring tween Riley and the personified emotions operating her brain.
Inside Out, which according to IMDb grossed over $850 million worldwide, explored the relationship between the young girl and her emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust.
The massively successful film built a reputation of being extremely relatable, creative and moving. Nine years later, the trailer release for the sequel is a major excitement to fans, especially with its inclusion of a new emotion character, Anxiety.
In the trailer, viewers see the emotions they already know and love, but panic ensues as a team of brain-inhabiting construction workers enter the space unannounced and completely renovate the control system of Riley’s mind.
A synopsis released by Disney reads, “Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions!”
In the trailer, the emotion gang receives their first surprise visitor and new member, Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke. The character is depicted with scraggly orange hair, a sizable smile and an extremely energetic personality.
With their arms filled with suitcases, Anxiety expressed their desire to make a good first impression as they moved into Riley’s brain. Perhaps Anxiety’s belongings also symbolize the emotional baggage the character themself carries with them.
“Anxiety has certainly increased among young teenagers,” said sociology professor Philip N. Cohen. “So the addition of an Anxiety character by Disney seems appropriate.”
The trailer ends with the description, “The feel good movie of 2024,” but the word “good” begins to switch between the known emotions followed by feelings fans have not seen before like “anxious,” “envious,” “embarrassed” and “ennui,” another term for boredom. It seems the character versions of these emotions and possible new, unlisted emotions might be introduced in the film.
“My initial thought is that having new emotions like anxiety will expand on the fact that different emotions are okay and normal to experience,” said junior kinesiology major Ally Bloom. “This film may also introduce the idea of anxiety to some and can shed light on it being a normal emotion.”
Indeed, the relatability factor of the franchise is only appearing to increase. Junior accounting major Tommy Yates shared his thoughts on the importance of this aspect of the films.
“I think it’s good because kids can relate to it and realize they’re not alone while growing up,” he said. “It’s good that they’re including a more vast range of emotions because kids are highly emotional.”
Yates predicts the film might perhaps see the introduction of a Shame character or something similar.
While the introduction of new feelings like Anxiety has been exciting for fans due to expanding plot opportunities and broadening representation, some have their concerns.
Professor Cohen expressed one of his hesitations, saying, “It's a shame that they took five characters, only one of which was positive (Joy), and decided to add another negative one. How about Courage, Love, Satisfaction, or Excitement?”
Perhaps Riley will lack the positivity she needs to make it through her youth and adolescence, or maybe her new emotions will allow her to grow into a self-caring and strong-willed teenager. Fans will have to wait to witness the outcome of the trailer’s featured new arrival and the predicted others until the film is released in June 2024.