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What to know before watching Inside Out 2

The Pixar sequel is available to stream on Disney+

Joy stands in front of Anger, Disgust, Sadness and Fear in Inside Out 2.
Riley faces new emotions in Pixar's Inside Out 2. (Disney/Pixar)

It's time to face new emotions in Pixar's Inside Out 2, which is finally streaming on Disney+ after smashing box-office records.

The original 2015 film was set inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl, Riley, with her five main emotions personified as characters. Nine years on, the sequel takes viewers on another trip through Riley's head – with the likes of Maya Hawke joining the star-studded cast.

Inside Out 2 recently became the highest-grossing animated movie ever, having made more than $1.6bn at the global box office over the summer, so its arrival on streaming has been hotly awaited. Here's everything you need know before watching the sequel.

Embarrassment, Anxiety, Envy and Ennui in Inside Out 2
Embarrassment, Anxiety, Envy and Ennui take a turn at the console in Inside Out 2. (Disney/Pixar)

Sign up to Disney+

Inside Out 2 is streaming on Disney+ now. The platform is home to every other Pixar film, including the original Inside Out.

The sequel is also available to buy from Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Sky Store. Alternatively, fans can pick up a copy of Inside Out 2 on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K UHD download. The film was originally released in UK cinemas and IMAX on Friday, 14 June.

Kensington Tallman as Riley Andersen in Inside Out 2
Riley heads to ice-hockey camp in the Pixar sequel. (Disney/Pixar)

The original Inside Out ended with Riley's emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear – discovering puberty and asking: "Riley's 12 now... What could possibly happen?"

In the sequel, we find out. Inside Out 2 picks up where its predecessor left off by focusing on Riley's adolescence. She is now 13, and has settled into life in San Francisco after her family's relocation from Minnesota. As she heads off to summer ice-hockey camp, new emotions like Anxiety and Embarrassment enter the fore – and they're determined to suppress her old emotions.

Read more: Will Inside Out 3 happen?

Star Amy Poehler said the new film "captures the beauty and hilarity of the emotions we experience on a daily basis", while director Kelsey Mann said he wanted to portray "that battle that's going on inside your head" in your awkward teenage years.

Pixar previously tackled the topics of puberty and teen angst in 2022's Turning Red. Eagle-eyed viewers will be able to spot a poster of 4*Town, the fictional boyband from Turning Red, in Riley's bedroom in Inside Out 2.

The first full trailer for Inside Out 2 landed in March and gave us a proper look at the new emotions joining Riley's subconscious, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment.

Hit play on the video below to re-enter Riley's head.

Meanwhile, the teaser trailer for Inside Out 2 arrived in November 2023.

Just as Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear thought they had Riley's feelings under control, her teenage years strike and bring with them a dose of orange-haired anxiety. Watch it below.

A scene from Pixar's Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 has received positive reviews from critics. (Disney/Pixar)

Grab the tissues because Inside Out 2 is streaming on Disney+ now, and Pixar has hit audiences right in the feels once more.

The Independent's review called the sequel "cynicism-free" saying it's "the stuff Pixar excels at, the fantastical speaking directly to the emotional." The Guardian's write-up praised some of the film's inventive visual imagery, explaining that it has a "great demonstration of what sulky teen sarcasm does to the tectonic plates of your emotional geology".

Variety said Inside Out 2 builds "on the earlier film’s playful brilliance and come about as close as we could have hoped for to matching it," while Digital Spy called it "funny, affecting and inventive".

Read full reviews below:

The Independent: Cynicism-free sequel might just save Pixar (4-min read)

The Guardian: Pixar returns to emotional Mission Control for Riley’s teen years (3-min read)

Variety: New Feelings Propel a Pixar Sequel Enchanting Enough to Second That Emotion (7-min read)

Digital Spy: Inside Out 2 is a funny, affecting and inventive Pixar sequel (4-min read)


Inside Out 2 is streaming on Disney+ now