As Pixar, which distinguished itself from the start as a purveyor of delightfully and movingly original animated features (and proved with last year’s Elemental that it still has that touch), now seems equally devoted to sequelizing all its past triumphs, Inside Out 2 was a cause for both anticipation and apprehension. With its note-perfect evocation through personalization of the core emotions operating within the psyche of 11-year-old Riley, and one classic tearjerker of a scene, 2015’s Inside Out was an especially tough act to follow, even as it ended with hints of a potential second chapter: The new Puberty button on the emotions’ upgraded console and Joy’s closing line, “Riley’s 12 now. What could happen?”
