Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as new Emotions show up. Embarrassment (voice of Paul Walter Hauser), Anxiety (voice of Maya Hawke), Envy (voice of Ayo Edebiri) and Ennui (voice of Adèle Exarchopoulos) are ready to take a turn at the console. Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, “Inside Out 2” releases only in theaters June 14, 2024.  Handout

Two things come to mind after I watched Inside Out 2: This should be required viewing for teenagers and we’re gonna need more of these movies.

Inside Out 2 starts off right after the first movie: Riley is turning 13 and is about to go to high school. She’s killing it as a member of her school’s hockey team and is even offered a slot to join Hockey Camp, which will determine if she has what it takes to join the high school Fire Hawks team with her best buds, Bree and Grace.

Inside Riley’s Mission Control, the five basic emotions - Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear - are watching Riley develop a Sense of Self, shown as a crystalline tree branch that echoes the constant belief: “I’m a good person.”

Enter Puberty, a new button on the control board that creates havoc inside Riley’s head to make way for new emotions such as Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui. These are not your usual childhood drivers of emotional need.

I recently watched the first Inside Out and found it to be such a calming film, one that teaches kids to acknowledge your emotions instead of numbing them out. We also get a wealth of hilariously imaginative ideas such as the nature of dreams (It’s a production!), Personality Islands, Abstract Thought and how you can mix facts and opinions on your Train of Thought.

Inside Out 2 goes even further by showing how raging hormones and certain life changes can bring about both unchecked emotions and crystalize core beliefs in a person. It’s a subject that Disney/Pixar already touched on in the first Inside Out but nudged a little bit forward as Riley struggles with the need to find her place as her besties, Bree and Grace, reveal that they are going to a different high school, breaking up the band.

We also get touches of the old Pixar brilliance such as the Sar-chasm, the Brainstorm and the Stream of Consciousness.

The struggle for control of Riley’s emotional HQ also goes harder - this time with the five basic emotions completely shut out of Mission Control and Anxiety - an orange, gremlin-like figure voiced by Maya Hawke - taking over. Anxiety completely steals the show as she threatens to not just control Riley’s inner life but also destroy her Sense of Self.

I confess there are parts of Inside Out 2 that slightly misses the mark such as the central conflict: making it to the hockey team doesn’t feel as troublesome and consequential as, say, running away from home like in the first movie. There’s also a reliance on formula: while Joy and Sadness are together through most of the first film, sequel rules mean they must be apart in the second one and that’s exactly what happens here. Curiously, we don't a sense of Envy's core although I suspect, using her more would mean a totally different movie.

But here’s the thing: I was stunned by the emotional core of this film. Inside Out 2 packs a wallop of a message - rooting your self-worth on anxiety is never a good thing. It also brought to mind a bible verse - Philippians 4:6-7: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

We do get a lot of good stuff here - the spectacular animation, amazing voice acting (Fil-Am actress Liza Lapira does gangbusters as Disgust), new and exciting characters, and even hints of where a third film could go. And what endless possibilities there is - if Pixar is up for it, I’d like a sequel on Riley’s First Love, Riley Getting Married, and  so on and so forth - plus more of that other emotion Nostalgia.

For kids, teens and parents, this movie is highly recommended.