Disney continues to take over the box office with its heartwarming films.
Inside Out 2 tells the story of young Riley as she navigates through her adolescent years, learning and growing. The movie has notably stood out for its inclusion of emotions that resonate with everyone. In the first film, viewers were introduced to Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. The sequel incorporates new characters: Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy, and Ennui (boredom).
The first film, released in 2015, earned $850 million worldwide. The sequel has now taken the number one spot at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It has earned $601 million domestically and $861.8 million internationally, surpassing one of Disney’s most popular princess films, Frozen II. Following down the list are Super Mario Bros. Movie, Frozen, Incredibles 2, Minions, Toy Story 4, and others.
Inside Out 2, starring Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Tony Hale, and Phyllis Smith, has gained significant attention for its family-friendly energy. It has become a pop culture phenomenon, with fans dressing as their favorite emotions and documenting their experiences in theaters. The sequel has also resonated with adults, who have shared their emotional reactions and found the film relatable.
Whether you feel sad or happy, the characters in the film serve as a teaching tool in parenting, especially when children struggle to express themselves. In an interview with Time, Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter said, “After the first film, we heard story after story of people saying, ‘I now have tools to talk about this stuff with my kids.’ That was especially true of little boys who have a lot of trouble talking about emotions… I don’t know if that’s genetics or a societal thing. But either way, they really connected, especially with Anger. One of the great gifts of this project is taking these abstract ideas and making them real.”
He also noted how there are so many emotions to explore that this movie just sparked that idea: “We’ve built the entire ocean for Nemo, the entire universe for Wall-E. But it turned out the biggest set we had built [when Inside Out debuted] was inside of a little girl’s mind. We only saw like 3% of it in the first film. There was way more to play with, and we had a lot of leftover ideas.”