How much does Inside Out 2 address the inner lives of teenagers?

With Inside Out 2Pixar invites audiences to step back into the brain of our hero Riley, just in time for her to reach puberty.

After some dismal performances at the box office with Light year And Elementary, there's a lot riding on this sequel to the fan-favorite 2015 pop psychology film for the popular animation company. But can we Inside Out 2 replicate the emotional punch of the original?

Today on Hustlefilm critic Rachel Ho, entertainment journalist Teri Hart and media personality Matt Hart join guest host Amil Niazi to discuss effectiveness Inside Out 2 is aimed at today's teens and the adults in their lives.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, where the panel unveils Glen Powell's starring role in Richard Linklater's hit action comedy Hit Man, and Seth Meyer's late-night talk show firings, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favorite podcast player.

WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube:

Amil: Matt, the original Upside down obviously holds a very special place in the hearts of his fans. What puts this at the top of the pile?

Mast: Well, the stakes are clearly higher than just talking about race cars. You're talking about big concepts that kids deal with, like emotions, and that evolves with them, so that as kids get older, the stakes get higher. So it's pretty easy to understand why kids are invested in these films, if it's the first thing that taught them how to deal with grief after their grandparents died or something; it's probably something that stays with you forever.

Amil: Rachel, did this sequel live up to your expectations?

Rachael: I don't think my expectations were very high to be honest, I didn't think this movie needed a sequel…but I liked how they moved it forward to puberty. The last time we saw Riley, she was little, so the natural progression is that she's 13 now and going through a lot. Puberty is never fun, so I think this is really awesome. And they also pushed the animation, which I thought was really cool.

The only thing I could take away from this is that the conclusion is exactly the same as the first: the idea that we have multiple emotions, and that's okay; It’s a bit of what makes a person. It's not a bad message to reiterate again, and I'm not really sure what other conclusion one could draw from a film like this, but I found that they did a bit of the same thing as the last time.

Amil: RIGHT. Teri, she's a 13-year-old girl and she had a lot of very relatable emotions, but it was a little sanitized. What did you think of the film?

Teri: I mean, there was no exciting emotion, right? I think that's the case for a lot of teenagers, but it's Pixar, which is owned by Disney, and I think they take that brand very seriously in terms of being as family friendly as possible. That got me in the mood. I think it is, even more than the original, more of a film for parents – a reminder that your children will change.

The film culminates with Riley having a full-blown panic attack, represented by a tornado with anxiety at the center. I thought it was really effective. He comes to the same conclusion, but one of the things he reminds us is that we can't put the bad things aside and cling only to our good emotions – that everything in our life makes us who we are. are, the good, the bad and the ugly. I think, as complicated as it is, and I think it's a little mature for some kids, that's what Pixar does, right? They challenge children and believe that children can handle complicated things in cinema, and Inside Out 2 is this. I liked it.

Amil: Rachel, with the first Upside down, we focused a lot particularly on Joy, and I am thinking of Sadness. Have you met any of these new characters?

Rachael: I think the emotions they chose to add are appropriate for this age group. This is the time in life when we start to feel a little anxious, and maybe recognize it. What I found interesting too, with anxiety in particular, is that when I was 13, I don't think I even knew what the word “anxiety” was. We never talked about it. These days, though, kids are really in tune with this idea that, “Oh, I feel anxious” or “I'm an anxious person.” We just thought, “Oh, that girl is weird over there” or “I feel weird,” so I think choosing those, for me, was a really good decision because I think it's really in touch.

You can listen to the entire discussion of today's show at CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel created by Stuart Berman.