Inside Out 2 Is Going To Take Us Back Through The Wild Emotions Of Puberty

Pixar’s Inside Out accomplished something of a mini miracle when it came out in 2015. The movie reminded us all how it felt to be a kid. Not in that glossy, cute, nostalgic way of some other movies, but the real emotions that feel like they are controlling every move you make. Quite literally, in the case of Inside Out, where the emotions are characters themselves who control Riley as she deals with moving to a new city. The upcoming sequel, Inside Out 2, picks up where we left off with Riley, and you know what that means.

Riley and her emotions go through puberty in Inside Out 2.

Amy Poehler, who voices Joy in both Inside Out and Inside Out 2, told People that the sequel essentially picks up right where the first movie left off. “At the very end of the original, Joy has that great moment where she’s like, ‘Finally, everything the way it’s supposed to be.’ Then we see that big puberty button, ‘Should we press this?’ We do press it in the second movie,” Poehler explained. “In some ways, Inside Out set itself up for a sequel and we’re going there.”

This means that the movie will focus on showing audiences “what it feels like to be a teenager, the new emotions that live inside a young person’s brain,” Poehler told the magazine, adding, “In many ways, it was really exciting. We knew exactly where we were. We go to the teen brain and we see the madness that lives inside there.”

Riley gets a new emotion in Inside Out 2.

A new trailer for Inside Out 2 gives viewers a little perspective on which emotion could be running things in the near future. We see Joy helping Riley find, well, joy as she laces up her skates and hits the ice to play hockey. Then Anger (Lewis Black) comes out to get Joy wound up, Fear (Tony Hale) reminds Riley to wear a mouthguard just as Disgust (now voiced by Liza Lapira) points out that Riley is using someone else’s mouthguard. Then Sadness (Phyllis Smith) is “in the house” but feeling halfhearted as usual. Until a new orange emotion comes on in and changes everything. Even the color of the console. Since this is puberty, you guessed it. Anxiety (Maya Hawke) has arrived. And she’s carrying a lot of baggage, giving us the impression that she plans on staying awhile.

Expect Inside Out 2 to go deep into puberty.

Poehler explained to People that Inside Out 2 delves deeper into the emotions Riley is feeling than the first film. Perhaps because those emotions are so much bigger during those difficult teen years. “Young people have a really hard time telling the world how they feel. Either they’re dismissed or they don’t have the language yet or they’re afraid their feelings won’t be what their parents want them to feel,” the mom of two explained. “So to give young people a sense of agency is really nuts.”

Inside Out 2 will be released in theaters on June 14. And it’s sure to be an emotional roller coaster. Much like puberty.