In 2015, director Pete Docter and Pixar created "Inside Out," offering a vivid visual metaphor to discuss emotions. This film introduced a shorthand for expressing complex feelings through the story of Riley, a young girl from Minnesota who experiences a range of emotions as she relocates with her family to San Francisco.

"Inside Out" personifies emotions as characters, showcasing Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). These emotions accidentally disrupt core memories in Riley's brain, prompting her to embark on a journey through her subconsciousness to stabilize the system.

In the upcoming sequel, "Inside Out 2," Riley's emotions, including anger (Lewis Black), Fear (now voiced by Tony Hale), and Disgust (Liza Lapira, replacing Mindy Kaling) has found a harmonious co-existence, leading to a strong sense of self.

 In the film "Inside Out 2," Kensington Tallman portrays 13-year-old Riley, who is approaching high school and participating in a three-day hockey skills camp alongside her friends Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and Grace (Grace Lu). However, Riley's emotions, personified as Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear, face new challenges with the introduction of more complex feelings. Among them are Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment, and the dominant emotion, Anxiety, voiced by Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, and Maya Hawke, respectively.

 Anxiety takes charge of Riley's mind, determined to protect her by building a new version of herself. But Riley experiences a panic attack at hockey camp, revealing the film's central conflict. Internally, Joy embarks on a journey to rescue Riley's sense of self, understanding that she must navigate and experience each emotion fully, including these new, thornier ones, in order to be a whole person.

In "Inside Out 2," there's a persisting sense that something crucial is lacking—Logic, Reason, and Rationality. As emotions control Riley's mind, it's evident that she's not in charge, which is perplexing for a newly-minted teenager. The nonchalant and cool French girl, Ennui, takes over during intellectual moments, using sarcasm to navigate embarrassing situations. This action creates a "sar-chasm" in Riley's Stream of Consciousness, the film's wordplay signature.

 To fully appreciate "Inside Out 2," one must temporarily set aside these questions. The movie is entertaining and engaging, particularly due to its new characters, who steal the spotlight. Hawke and Edebiri deliver exceptional vocal performances as the tightly-wound Anxiety and Envy rival demonic twins. Exarchopoulos' smoky voice adds to her inspired casting.

 There's a fun sequence featuring new characters from Riley's head's vault. Lance (Yong Yea), an ultra-serious video game hero, is a childhood crush of Riley's. Bloofy (Ron Funches), a cartoon dog from a preschool show, is also present. Both characters are genuinely humorous and allow the animators to explore different design and style elements. Regrettably, the film underutilizes these characters at times.

Inside Out 2 presents creative and delightful new emotions, such as Hawke’s frizzy-haired anxiety and nods to the 1980s language-learning cartoon “Muzzy” with Embarrassment and Ennui. However, the human/"real world" design remains consistent with Pixar's style, showcasing hard, shiny, and photorealistic elements that raise questions about whether live-action actors would be a better choice for this format.

 The sequel pushes the control-room metaphor to its limits as Riley matures, depicting her as a quivering mess entirely ruled by whims. The film effectively utilizes emotions and memories to construct a belief system and sense of self, making it a valuable resource for discussions with children about their inner workings and brain functions. The imagery is clever and reminiscent of an educational children's book. However, the movie's internal logic challenges our own belief systems but fails to offer profound insights to adults, lacking the depth necessary for a broader audience. Come for Riley because she ultimately is the catalyst to tackle some of the issues she is facing with your own child. 

Inside out 2 is currently in theaters everywhere