5 New Emotions I Would Have Liked to Have Seen in ‘Inside Out 2’
Pixar has struck gold, if not pure palladium, once again. They’ve just released Inside Out 2, the sequel to their first film in which they decided to stop bothering with cars and other inanimate objects and just give emotions themselves big eyes and funny colors. I get it! Symbolism is hard, and Oscars are all but guaranteed, so why waste time imbuing toys with personalities when you could cut out the middleman and make a movie that is literally Joy versus Sadness?
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With the second Inside Out, as the host of our parasitic emotions (Riley) ages into her teens, they’ve added a couple more subtle emotions, but not enough of them — or weird enough ones — for my taste. If you’re going to make CGI therapy, let’s get into the big questions.
Here are five emotions I would have liked to see rear their heads in Inside Out 2…
Greed
How are you going to do a movie about personified emotions and leave out Greed? It’s honestly a bit insulting, given all that greed has done for movie plots over the years. Not to mention, it’s an easy day at the office, considering how many times it’s been symbolized over the years and how easy of a color choice it is.
Why is there not a gigantic, grinning slug eating grapes off the vine in the background of half the scenes? Moreover, Riley is hitting allowance age — the point at which you start to actually use and see the value of money. At the very least, give the guy a cameo.
Shame
Okay, I understand that they introduced Embarrassment in this edition, but if we’re being honest, that’s a cop-out. Saying that people spend their middle and high school years filled with “embarrassment” is like doing a war flick where everyone’s wielding Nerf guns. “Embarrassment” is what you feel as an adult, remembering high school. What you feel while you’re there is pure, unadulterated, gutting shame. We aren’t spending hundreds of hours and three times that in co-pays to go to therapy to work out our unresolved “embarrassment” issues.
Narcissism
Then again, if your braces haven’t sorted you into the Shamed slice of the student body, you’re being desired and kowtowed to like a queen or king. Pride happens when you get an A on an exam, high-school narcissism is when you don’t study at all because your life plan is “instagram influencer.” We’re in the age of TikTok, and you’re not going to take a swing at narcissism? C’mon now.
Schadenfreude
The specific joy that comes from the fall of a real or perceived enemy is something that may never be stronger than the teen years Inside Out 2 features. Years in which social standing is front, center and inescapable, and performance rankings are posted on public walls. Literal witchcraft is attempted by high-schoolers in pursuit of this sweet feeling, harvesting hair strands from their nemeses in an attempt to send them stumbling off the prom court stage by way of the lefthand path.
Inside Out 2’s already shown a willingness to cross language barriers with Ennui, and honestly, passing up an opportunity for a funny German accent in an animated movie is a crime.
The Call of the Void
Speaking of ennui and complex, French-recognized emotions, I’d have loved to see a guestie from l'appel du vide, or the call of the void. In practical terms, it’s that little haunting voice in the back of your head that suddenly suggests a long walk off a short cliff on a sightseeing tour.
I get that the target audience for these movies aren’t paying for a look into nihilism in the form of self-harm, but sack up, Pixar. You’ve already proved you can crack the hero’s journey, let’s get started on the dark side. I’m imagining a little sort of Droopy Dog by way of Tyler Durden, in a tiny grim reaper’s robe.