Summary
- New emotions in Inside Out 2 create conflict with the original characters, exploring Riley's life as she enters puberty.
- The sequel deepens our understanding of human emotions, but the absence of new feelings in adults raises concerns.
- Inside Out 2 may explain missing emotions by having them exist elsewhere or be bottled up in adults, offering different story paths.
Inside Out 2 introduces new emotions to Riley's mind, but this creates a big problem for the characters in the first movie. Pixar's sequel to Inside Out continues exploring Riley's life as she enters puberty and begins to experience a new set of emotions that come with it. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear remain central figures within her mind, but Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, Envy, and Nostalgia are all confirmed as new emotions for Inside Out 2. They then begin to influence Riley's thoughts, actions, and feelings, creating conflict with the original emotions.
Introducing a new set of emotions makes sense after Inside Out's ending to expand the franchise and further explore the mind. Joy, sadness, anger, disgust, and fear are far from the only emotions that humans experience after all. Inside Out 2 bringing five more emotions into the fold allows for a deeper examination of the human experience, with a specific focus on the life of a teenage girl. Seeing how Anxiety and other emotions change Riley is one reason why the sequel's story could be so poignant, but the introduction of these characters also creates problems.
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Inside Out 2's Cut Emotion Spoils A Pixar Movie Trope We've Loved Since Toy Story 2
Inside Out 2 potentially spoiled a trend that has strengthened Pixar's animated movies for decades by cutting out one of Riley's new emotions.
No One Has Anxiety Or Inside Out 2’s Other New Emotions In The First Film
Everyone Only Has The Five Main Emotions
The decision to introduce Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, Envy, and Nostalgia as Inside Out 2's new emotions directly connects to the main story. There is, however, an issue that arises with their sudden role in the franchise. Inside Out notably did not have any of these emotions play a role in Riley's mind, something the sequel looks to explain away as them arriving as she goes through puberty. The problem is that Riley's mind is not the only one that audiences see in the original movie.
Riley and her emotions are the clear focus of the first Inside Out, but the film also expands beyond her thoughts and feelings by the end. This includes showing a glimpse inside the emotions of Riley's parents, a young boy, and even an animal. In every instance, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust are the only emotions that exist within a person. While Inside Out 2 will show Riley beginning to experience new emotions, these same feelings missing from other minds is an issue.
Inside Out’s Missing Emotions Don’t Make Sense For The Adult Characters
Adults Should Have More Emotions
Inside Out 2 might be able to explain that Anxiety and the other emotions only arrive during puberty, but them no longer being around in adults does not make sense. These new emotions should still be present in people well beyond their teenage years and going through puberty. Adults can and do experience anxiety, ennui, embarrassment, envy, and nostalgia. These are not feelings that only exist when people are younger and suddenly grow out of them. It is even possible that any of these emotions, specifically anxiety, will be felt even more as adults.
There is a real-world explanation for why Inside Out 2's emotions are missing from the original movie. Pixar had no plans for a sequel and did not have the concepts to include these emotions in the original. They would have crowded the film's cast and were not necessary for the story. However, that does not make it easier to excuse how odd it is in-universe for Riley's parents or other adults to not still have anxiety, ennui, embarrassment, envy, or nostalgia as prominent emotions. Inside Out 2 could make this worse if it doesn't address the missing emotions in adults.
How Inside Out 2 Can Explain Anxiety & Other Emotions Missing From The Original
They Can Exist Elsewhere
There are a few different options for how Inside Out 2 can explain why Anxiety and other emotions are missing from other people in the original movie. The sequel's story revolves around a conflict between the new and old emotions as they fight for power in the Control Room. It is likely that the story will resolve with the emotions learning to work together in some capacity and all exist within Riley's mind. The old emotions could remain in power of the Control Room, while the newer ones could find roles elsewhere and return when needed.
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There is also a darker explanation for Inside Out 2's emotions missing from the original. The film introduces the concept of bottled-up emotions with Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust all literally being placed in a bottle where they are unable to help Riley. It is possible that Riley's parents and other adults still have the new emotions but that Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, Envy, and Nostalgia are bottled up. This would be a fairly bleak way for Inside Out 2 to address the mental health of adults, though.
