The Big Picture

Inside Out 2
explores Riley’s new emotions in her teenage years, the addition of Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment complicates Riley’s emotional journey.
Amy Poehler and Maya Hawke discuss the nuanced portrayal of Joy and Anxiety, where they pulled from for the characters and the changes their characters go through.
Poehler and Hawke talk about the impactful scenes in the film that changed how they look at the emotions.

Inevitably, as we reach puberty, our whole world changes. Our bodies change, but our minds change as well. Alongside pimples and body odor, we’re now experiencing a whole new plethora of emotions, and not all of them are positive. Such is the struggle that Riley (Kensington Tallman) has to go through in Inside Out 2. Rather than dealing with the struggles of having to move house, the Pixar sequel film narrows in on an important weekend in Riley’s life before the beginning of a new school year as she has to struggle with friendships, ambitions, and a storm of new emotions that seem to have a hold of her brain.

While Inside Out was very much framed around the five core emotions Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale, replacing Bill Hader), and Disgust (Liza Lapira, replacing Mindy Kaling), this film adds tosses in four more complicated emotions with Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edibiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser). When these new emotions take over Riley’s brain, sending her careening down a spiral of teenage emotions, her life turns upside down in the process.

We spoke with Amy Poehler and Maya Hawke about the new film and discussed with them some of the nuances and chances that we see in Inside Out 2. With Hawke, we talked about where she pulled the character of Anxiety from and how she created the persona. With Poehler, we discussed the change in the sequel that throws Joy off-kilter. Poehler also discussed the importance of not leaning too far into toxic positivity by making Joy the character who saves the day. Hawke and Poehler also discuss how scenes from the film changed their approach and outlook on emotions. Watch the video with Poehler and Hawke above or read the full transcript of the interview below.

Inside Out 2 Follow Riley, in her teenage years, encountering new emotions.Release Date June 14, 2024 Director Kelsey Mann Writers Meg LeFauve Studio(s) Pixar Animation Studios Distributor(s) Disney Expand

Maya Hawke Reveals Where She Got the Character Anxiety From
Image via Disney

COLLIDER: You go into it thinking Anxiety is this antagonist in the film, but really, she’s also trying to do what’s best for Riley, and I love that. Maya, can you talk about where you pulled from to channel Anxiety, and what about playing this role spoke to you and was real for you?

MAYA HAWKE: I created this little character for myself in my own life to help me articulate to the people around me that when I was anxious, I knew I was being a little kooky, where I knew I was kind of overdoing it. I was like, “Okay, so we need to have this, and then we need to have this, and then that,” and the character was like, “Oh, okay! No, I’m just a little worried, but it’s okay. I’m just a little stressed about it, but it’s all going to be fine. I know it’s gonna be fine. I’m just gonna lay on the couch for a minute, okay?” And it was just a way to communicate with my friends and family, like, “I’m doing not okay or perfect, but I know I’m not doing perfect, and it’s not your fault. It’s me.” I just used that character and translated this person I’d built for myself in Riley’s head.

Amy Poehler on the Satisfaction of Playing a More Nuanced Joy in ‘Inside Out 2’
Image via Disney

Amy, in the first movie, Joy was very much all positive and happy-go-lucky, but we see a defeated side of her in this after being replaced. What was that like leaning into that part of this emotion?

AMY POEHLER: It was super satisfying to get to play an emotion that’s having this emotion, that she feels completely confused. Joy doesn’t really seem, often, very confused. She always knows what to do. So to have her be worried that she wasn’t needed anymore, that, of course, mirrors what a parent feels when their kid is starting to be their own person because Joy is very parental. I loved that mirroring. I really relate to it.

The other thing that I love about it is that it would be really weird right now to make a movie where Joy saves the day. It’s not a great time right now. There’s been a lot of crazy stuff, especially in the past decade, and Pixar is not gonna gaslight you. Pixar is like, “Yeah, there’s a lot to be worried about.” If Joy just was like, “Come on, guys! Let’s do it!” Everyone would say like, “Okay, it’s like toxic positivity.” So I feel like they really treated Joy very respectfully, but also respectfully, Joy, you don’t always have all the answers. It’s okay. Like, “Don’t worry, be happy? Get over it, don’t worry?” That doesn’t work.

I love that Joy is realizing as she gets older, she’s gonna experience less joy, which I was like, “Oh, god, this is too real.”

POEHLER: It’s so real. But I would just say the specific distinction about that is you have to make room for it. I do think that, like anything in life, as you get older, that’s one thing you realize, “Oh, I have to make room for fill-in-the-blank,” — friends, exercise, open-mindedness. You have to make room for it because if you don’t watch out, you start getting smaller and smaller in mind. So, you just have to make room for it.

Related Will We Get an ‘Inside Out 3’ at Pixar? ‘Inside Out 2’ Director Kelsey Mann teases potential plot ideas for future installments of the emotional film franchise.

Poehler and Hawke Discuss Some of ‘Inside Out 2’s Most Impactful Scenes

Was there something in this movie that, after doing it, you approached your emotions differently, being able to visualize this? I feel like I understood, “Oh, my fear is not really there to be working against me. It’s there to protect me.” Was there a moment like that for you doing this?

POEHLER: There’s a moment in this film where Riley is unhappy, and Sadness really wants to take over. She hears some bad news, and she’s trying not to cry. Riley steps out of the car, and then Joy hands the controls over to Sadness, and Sadness pushes the lever, and she cries. I love that moment because what that moment was, was like, “You have to feel your feelings. It’s okay to pause and to cry outside of the car, but don’t forget to do it.”

HAWKE: That really shows you how their relationship has changed. They have learned to work together, which is so beautiful. I also love the moment where your magic dust at the very end, Riley is calling to you, and it’s like, “Riley needs you.” That’s so beautiful, especially with what your character has been through, and this feeling of maybe not being as necessary as she felt she was. And then that whole thing where you do take control again, and it goes so well.

POEHLER: And then when Anxiety kind of goes like this [gestures], Anxiety goes, “After you,” it’s too much! I didn’t even know that was gonna happen.

HAWKE: I didn’t, either.

POEHLER: It’s so good.

Inside Out 2 comes to theaters Friday, June 14, 2024.

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