After “Elemental” was the studio’s biggest hit since “Toy Story 4,” Pixar hopes to continue its commercial bounce-back with another sequel, “Inside Out 2.” Smart move on Pixar’s part: the 2015 original film was the animation studio’s last true critical darling, making several critical top 10 lists that year. To be fair, other recent Pixar films have scored well with critics too, but “Inside Out 2” still needs fresh take on its premise for everyone to take it seriously. So what does Pixar have up its sleeve?
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Easy: add more emotions to the main character’s inner life. The latest trailer for “Inside Out 2” announces more additions to the film’s voice cast, all for emotions the now-teenaged Riley has to contend with. Maya Hawke was already previously announced as Anxiety, but now there’s three more emotions added to the ensemble cast: Ayo Edebiri as Envy, Adéle Exarchopoulos as Ennui, and Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment. In addition, Kensington Tallman voices Riley, who’s about to enter high school.
Here’s an official synopsis for “Inside Out 2,” courtesy of Pixar:
Inside Out 2 returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.
The other voice cast for Emotions in “Inside Out 2” include Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Tony Hale, and Liza Lapira. Then there’s the rest of the huge cast. Diane Liane and Kyle MacLachlan reprising their roles as Riley’s mom and Dad, while Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green and Grace Lu voice Riley’s best friends. Yvette Nicole Brown also has a major role as Coach Roberts. Other cast includes Sarayu Blue, Flea, Ron Funches, Dave Goelz, James Austin Johnson, Bobby Moynihan, Frank Oz, Paula Pell, Paula Poundstone, John Ratzenberger, Kendall Coyne Schofield, June Squibb, Kirk Thatcher, and Yong Yea.
“Inside Out 2” hits theaters on June 14. And don’t be surprised if the sequel has its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival like “Elemental” did last year. Watch the latest trailer for the movie below.