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It’s been nearly a decade since the original film came out, so the animation required some updates before Inside Out 2 would be ready to go. For this, Pixar had a team of both new and returning craftspeople working tirelessly to rework the world and introduce a new set of emotions to tell a new story for the sequel.

Inside Out 2 returns to follow Riley Anderson (Kensington Tallman) and her emotional network during her teenage years. As she hits puberty, a crew of new emotions shows up, upsetting the balance Joy (Amy Poehler) has created in Riley’s mind. As the craftspeople were in charge of updating the world of Inside Out, they also had to deal with the introduction of new emotions, including Anxiety (Maya Hawke). Inside Out 2 releases in theaters on June 14, 2024.

Disney/Pixar’s ‘Inside Out 2’

“There’re good and bad things about working on a sequel,...

Pixar director Kelsey Mann pitched “Inside Out 2” (in theaters June 14) as a hostile takeover of Riley’s (Kensington Tallman) emotions during the onslaught of puberty, led by Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and cohorts Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser).

“What if this version is like them going: ‘[Joy], you’re wonderful, but you need to get out of here,'” Mann said at a recent Pixar press junket. “And so I always pitched it as a takeover movie.” But there’s nothing sinister about Anxiety leading the revolt. Like Joy (Amy Poehler), she merely wants to protect Riley, but believe she’s more qualified to handle her teen angst now that she’s turned 13.

In fact, Mann found it analogous to “All About Eve,” with Anxiety as the emotional ingenue willing at first to support Joy and learn from her. That is, until she realizes that...