Do you know why Pixar has had so many blockbuster animated films? It’s not just the top-of-the-line CG animation — it’s because Pixar movies have an uncanny ability to make people emotionally relate to the characters. Viewers want to feel moved by the the stories they consume, and Inside Out 2 recaptured the old Pixar magic by making that happen again. It’s not just the highest-grossing movie of 2024 — it’s now the highest-grossing animated movie ever.
This movie’s success comes down to the fact that viewers young and old care about the personified emotions living inside the head of a 13-year-old girl named Riley Andersen (Kensington Tallman). Most of the movie takes place in Riley’s mindscape, as Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Liza Lapira), and Fear (Tony Hale) feel threatened by the arrival of new emotions including Anxiety (Stranger Things season 5 star Maya Hawke). Almost all of Riley’s internal conflict plays out between the emotions, and we get to see how that affects her in the real world as well.