Health Beyond the Blog: The “Inside Out” movies

“Inside Out” 1 and 2 Remind Us to Feel All Our Emotions

by Collin France

Inside Out, a two-movie franchise produced by Pixar Animation Studios, addresses the mental health challenges people face in the journey of their life. The movies follow the experiences of the main character, Riley Anderson, and by focusing on other characters that embody Riley’s emotions — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust — within the “headquarters” of Riley’s brain.

In Inside Out 1 (2015), 11-year-old Riley’s emotions face the challenge of reacting to her family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco while also learning about each other, particularly, how they need each other to grow and adapt to the changes in Riley’s life. Inside Out 2 (2024) shows the struggles of 13-year-old Riley as she begins puberty and has to expand the headquarters to make room for new emotions that represent the sporadic emotional states of tweens and teens: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui.

The Inside Out movies address serious mental health issues in a playful and uplifting manner. They make difficult topics easier to understand and talk about, by presenting real-world scenarios such as moving to a new place or reaching puberty through comedic depictions of personified emotions. Audiences responded to these portrayals: Inside Out 1 received a 98 percent rating on the fan-rating site Rotten Tomatoes, while Inside Out 2 received 92 percent.

Inside Out 1 and 2 challenge viewers to recognize that it is normal, and even positive, to experience a range of emotions in order to make decisions based on our preferences and make authentic connections and relationships with others. Having that variety allow us to create what the movies call “core memories”which work together to develop our personalities over time.

Inside Out also emphasizes the importance of regulating emotions. In both movies, trouble arises when one emotion takes control of the headquarters, or when a key emotion goes missing. Inside Out movies ultimately leave us with a lesson: It is not until we fully embrace all our emotions that we may find our true sense of self and become comfortable with the challenges life throws at us.

Both movies are available for streaming on Disney Plus.