The Inside Out 2 makers talk about teenage pain, emotions with a German accent and Star Wars inspiration

With Inside Out, Pixar pulled off a real stroke of genius in 2015. The universal story about the child Riley (original voice: Kensington Tallman) and her emotions has thrilled both young and old movie fans and is still loved by fans and critics today. It’s no coincidence that the animated adventure has an incredible 98 percent press score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Almost 9 years later, Riley’s story continues on the big screen. In Inside Out 2 she celebrates her 13th birthday ‒ and with it a change of school, as well as the arrival of some as yet unknown emotions …

Moviepilot editor Joana Müller spoke to director Kelsey Mann and Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter about the animated sequel to mark the film’s release. The two of them revealed to us, why we all doubt sometimeswhy embarrassment is the greatest emotion and whether we can expect a third part.

Moviepilot: In Inside Out 2, Riley enters puberty and we get to know new emotions: doubt, embarrassment, jealousy and ennui. Why did you choose these four out of the many possibilities?

Kelsey Mann: There were tons of choices. I made a list of what we could do and I was immediately drawn to doubt. Early on in the process I felt that many people can understand this emotion well. I started doing this in January 2020. And at that time there was a statistical increase in doubts among teenagers, especially girls. Then the pandemic came. And that made the problem even bigger.

Pete Docter: There has been an increase in teenage girls and animation directors (laughs).

Kelsey Mann: (laughs) Totally. So I knew from the start that [Zweifel] will be there. But I didn’t know who would come with her. We tried different options, but the emotions that remained are the ones that can best tell Riley’s story at this age. She is a teenager here and she has to deal with a lot of things, you become very aware of yourself at this age. You compare yourself to others. The emotions that have made it through are those that are very self-aware and think about how you fit in compared to others.

I can understand that. I read beforehand that guilt, jealousy and gloating were also high up in the running. Which of these emotions would you have liked to have seen in the film?

Pete Docter: We tried Schadenfreude in the first film and now for the second time. He can be very funny and he would probably speak with a German accent.

Kelsey Mann: I believe very much in this character. We tried it twice already because we make so many versions of these films. In Inside Out he was a really funny guy. But what happens next? He was not needed to tell what [die Figur] Joy and Riley are going through right now. But I’m sure he’ll make a cameo appearance at some point.

Pete Docter: Like nostalgia stopping by for a minute.

We’ve already talked about doubt and how it’s probably the most central new emotion in the film. Is it your favorite emotion too or do you have a secret favorite?

Kelsey Mann: For me, she is. She’s such a universal emotion, for better or for worse. No matter where you go, everyone can relate to Doubt and I’m really happy with how her character has evolved. She started out as an antagonistic force, she was too much of a stereotypical villain that you don’t really enjoy watching.

Even though she is the villain of the film in a way, she doesn’t see herself that way. She loves Riley as much as Joy does. They are like parents arguing about how best to care for your child.

Pete Docter: She’s the parent who goes a little too far.

How did you approach the design of doubt and the other emotions? Why do they look the way they do?

Pete Docter: In the first film, we tried to follow very classic shapes. Anger is a block and it is a primary color, red. Joy is in the shape of a starburst and it is yellow. As we added new ones, we thought about new [Formen und Farben] thought about.

Kelsey Mann: I made a list of what emotions we could do, but also what colors we could use. All the ones we hadn’t worked with before. Orange was on the list. So I thought, Someone has to be orange. Who would be the best match? It quickly became clear that it was a doubt. I don’t think we even considered many other options for her.

Pete Docter: You put them all next to each other and see if they fit together. Size was also an issue.

Kelsey Mann: Exactly. I told our production designer Jason Deamer that I wanted a very small emotion and a very big emotion. But we didn’t know who it would be. Embarrassment started out about the size of Sadness. But I also wanted a very big emotion.

When you are embarrassed about something, you want to hide, right? And he is the greatest emotion, he can not hide. It’s very difficult for him, so he gave us lots of opportunities for humor. And finally, for the smallest emotion, envy was perfect, because that’s the feeling you get when you want what others have. And that includes the ability to reach the console in Riley’s head. I wanted her to be just small enough that when she stands and stretches her head out, she can’t reach the buttons. That way, she wishes she was as big as the others.

How did you approach the voice casting? Did you have specific actors in mind when you designed the characters or did the process come afterwards?

Kelsey Mann: For the new emotions, we relied on our great casting department at Pixar. We meet with them and talk about the characters. For example, when she has doubts, she is always briefly in fight-or-flight mode, she is always worried about possible threats. She thinks very quickly. So she probably speaks very quickly too. So I give them a few clues and then they put out feelers and come back with a list. It really just says Actor 1, Actor 2, 3, etc. And I look at the design of the character and listen to everything individually.

Pete Docter: They don’t tell you who it is.

Kelsey Mann: You just listen to the quality of their voices and see if it feels like the character. Sometimes you recognize who it is and think, ‘Oh, I love them.’ Sometimes I didn’t know, but I loved them. So I tell them, this voice feels like doubtand then tell me who it is.

Pete Docter: Like the first film. Except for anger. I always had Lewis Black in mind.

Kelsey Mann: I remember you saying that you wanted to find someone who would look the same on the recording as they do in real life.

Pete Docter: Exactly, in private he is still the character. He doesn’t even want to be mean. But he is.

You also consulted with a group of teenage girls who gave you feedback on the authenticity of the story. Can you explain in more detail what “Riley’s Crew” is all about?

Kelsey Mann: I love talking about Riley’s crew. There was a group of teenage girls who were between 13 and 16 when we started shooting. They did exactly what you mentioned. We showed them every single version of the film. At Pixar, we storyboard the entire draft of the film, from start to finish. We edit everything together, with temp music and sound and the voices and everything, and then we watch the new film every three months.

I think we had eight or nine versions of the film. We showed each one to Riley’s crew to make sure we were telling the story accurately and authentically. I wanted everyone to be able to relate to the film, whether they’re going to be a teenager, whether they were a teenager in the past, or whether they’re a teenager right now. For me it has been a while, so I needed support.

The film is about many things that you experience as a teenager. Why is this story so important to tell and so universal?

Kelsey Mann: You go through a lot of changes at that time and Riley is going through that too. She’s in this transition phase where she’s moving from one school to another and she realizes that her friends who she thought were going to be with her on this new adventure aren’t going to be there. She’s going to be alone. She’s worried: Who am I going to know? I must find friends quickly.

And she has the opportunity to join the hockey team at the new school. But for her, when you’re young, you’re automatically on the team. But later on, you have to prove yourself.
My children had to go through that too. You have to be really good to make the team.

Pete Docter: There are biological reasons for all of this. From birth, we have parents. You don’t have to do anything for it. You’re cute. They take care of you. But when you hit puberty, you’re automatically pushed out of the tribe. And you have to find a new one so that the genes work.

That’s why we have all these emotions. Because you have to understand what it takes to fit in. What’s cool? What’s not cool? What will hurt someone? What will make someone make them kill me? All these things come at you at that age. Especially when you get to junior high. It’s horrible.

Pete, you directed the first film and also co-wrote the screenplay. Was it difficult for you to give up the directing position now?

Pete Docter: No. I care about the films incredibly deeply. But once they’re finished, I don’t think about them much. But I still love the characters and the world.

[Kelsey] had great respect for Part 1 and his characters. He made sure that everything was authentic and consistent. At the same time, that we do not repeat ourselves and we do not just make a copy of the same filmwith a few figures swapped around.

Kelsey Mann: It’s funny, I thought a lot about The Empire Strikes Back when we were making the movie.

Pete Docter: Oh really?

Kelsey Mann: You are the George Lucas of Inside Out. I feel like the [Das Imperium schlägt zurück-Regisseur] Irvin Kershner from Inside Out.

Will we get to see Inside Out 3?

Pete Docter: Who knows? We only wanted to do Part 2 in one case: when we find a story worth telling. And if not, then no. We’re obviously trying to make it appealing to the audience. We want to create something that they’ll like. But first we have to find something that’s worth it. We don’t have that yet.