How typical of Pixar to make a summer sequel that explores normative social influence and introduces us to a Gallic character called Ennui, only to give said character a nickname (Wee Wee) guaranteed to make under-10s giggle. The company has struggled recently to connect with audiences. Kelsey Mann’s fizzily ambitious epic deserves to buck that trend.
In the 2015 original, the San Francisco-based Andersen family possessed brains controlled by five emotions. Now that the heroine, Riley, has turned 13 and acquired whiffy armpits, a new feeling, Anxiety, (hilariously voiced by Maya Hawke) takes control of headquarters. With the help of Envy, Embarrassment and the aforementioned Ennui, Anxiety muzzles Amy Poehler’s Joy, so that Riley can pass as cool during a weekend at an ice-hockey summer camp.
