Back in September 2022 — at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California — Disney announced that it was creating a sequel to the hit 2015 Pixar film, Inside Out. The original animated film told the story of Riley, a young girl who is moved from the Midwest to San Francisco, California. It is a lot for Riley to handle, and Riley’s emotions go a little wild.
Inside Out starred Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, and Bill Hader as Fear. Kaitlyn Dias provided the voice for Riley. Diane Lane voiced Riley’s mom and Kyle MacLachlan was Riley’s dad.
It seems hard to believe, but Inside Out 2 is slated to hit theaters on June 14! And in preparation for Pixar’s newest film, Disney has just dropped a brand-new trailer. Instead of just seeing Riley’s emotions, we also get to see where Riley is and who she is becoming.
Check it out!
As you can see, Disney and Pixar are still keeping most of Riley’s new emotions under wraps. We have only met Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke), but the film will also feature Embarrassment, Envy, and Ennui (the feeling of dissatisfaction).
Sadly, not all the film’s original actors will be returning to the sequel film. Amy Poehler will be back as Joy, Phyllis Smith will return as Sadness, and Lewis Black will be back as Anger. Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling opted not to return as Fear and Disgust. Fear will now be voiced by Hocus Pocus 2, star Tony Hale, and Liza Lapira will voice Disgust.
Disney has shared that Inside Out 2 will try to take a realistic look at the harsh reality of what it is like to be a teenage girl. Much like in Turning Red, Riley will be going through puberty. Her body will be changing, and her emotions will be struggling to figure out how to handle all the major changes happening at once.
Even the trailer’s music gives a sneak peek at what a wild ride the audience will be in for. The new trailer features the song “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne.
Inside Out 2 was written by Meg LeFauve and is directed by Kelsey Mann. The film will also star Diane Lane, once again playing Riley’s mom. Fans were hoping that Richard Kind would return as Bing Bong, but it does not look like that is happening.
An upcoming film in the studios has Disney CEO Bob Iger reaching out to the talent for help.
Disney’s getting back to its roots–or so fans would be led to believe. During The Walt Disney Company’s 2023 fiscal first-quarter earnings call with Wall Street’s finest in February of this year, during which better-than-expected returns were shared with investors and analysts, CEO Bob Iger had a few more surprises up his sleeve.
He began by announcing a massive $5.5 billion cut in spending across the organization, part of which included a major restructuring of The Walt Disney Company’s various divisions. Though Disney’s quarterly results were impressive, Iger couldn’t keep his viewfinder set to only that three-month period at the end of the 2022 calendar year.
The boomerang CEO, who at the time had been back at his post for less than three months, stressed the importance of Disney’s ability to trim its spending drastically in numerous areas, and in addition to Disney’s restructuring, Iger also announced plans for 7,000 layoffs company-wide.
It was no secret that The Walt Disney Company had failed miserably at the box office throughout 2022. Disney’s three film offerings that year–two of which came from Pixar Animation Studios–simply didn’t resonate with many who saw them, and in addition to that, many usual moviegoers simply skipped Disney at the theater in 2022, citing Disney’s “woke ideology.”
Pixar’s Turning Red debuted in March on Disney+, followed by Pixar’s Lightyear in theaters in June, and in November, Disney’s Strange World made its theatrical debut. It was a record-breaking year for Disney at the box office, and not in a good way.
But after the proverbial dust had settled from Bob Iger’s seemingly continual onslaught of bad news during the earnings call, a silver lining seemed to emerge as Iger announced three new films in production that could serve to right the ship of box office flops for the company–but in order to do so, Disney would have to call in the heroes–namely, Woody and Buzz, Anna and Elsa, and Judy Hopps.
Iger announced the return of three fan-favorite film franchises–Pixar’s Toy Story, Disney’s Frozen, and Disney’s Zootopia, each of which had performed well and resonated with fans over the years. Though Iger didn’t use the exact terminology, the announcement came with the clear hope that getting back to Disney’s roots could be what turned the tide for the company at the box office.
Now, however, months after Iger’s initial announcement about the three savior productions at Disney, actor Tim Allen, who voices the action figure space ranger Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s Toy Story franchise, has revealed that CEO Bob Iger recently called on him and Tom Hanks, who voices Sheriff Woody in the same franchise, to share their thoughts about a fifth Toy Story installment.
While details about the new film are scarce, the new film will reportedly be a back-to-basics take centered on Woody and Buzz rather than a spinoff like Pixar’s Lightyear (2022). Perhaps that’s why Disney CEO Bob Iger reached out to Allen and Hanks to get their take on a fifth film
Before Thanksgiving, Tim Allen appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, during which he talked about Toy Story 5, saying that Iger chose to “reach out” to him and Tom Hanks as well.
“Bob Iger, head of Disney, said [the film] was on and actually said it was going to happen,” Allen said. “They have reached out to Tom and I to reprise the roles. They’re not saying anything about it. You wonder if four was too many. Is five going to be too much?”
“According to the scuttlebutt,” he continued, “the writer that’s doing it wrote one of the better ones and said, ‘If I didn’t get this right, I wouldn’t do it.’ It could be a very, very interesting way to reunite it.”
Though the storyline for Toy Story 5 has yet to be revealed, one thing is certain: Pixar absolutely needs a hit, and if any of the studio’s franchises can pull it off, it’s Toy Story, Pixar’s first and oldest franchise, the initial installment for which debuted in 1995, with sequel installments debuting in 1999, 2010, and 2019.
Following Pixar’s major flop in June 2022 with Lightyear, the studio is in desperate need of a home run.
In June 2023, Elemental debuted at the box office, setting records as Pixar’s worst box office debut in history. But several weeks following its theatrical release, Elemental began to take off, surprising even the head of Pixar Animation Studios–Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, who admitted they simply didn’t know why the film started low and then saw an exponential boom at the box office.
But that boom was enough to convince Pixar execs that it’s time to return to the studio’s roots.
Docter said that PIXAR’s classic stories, including Toy Story, are often anchored on “ideas that we all carried around as kids.” That focus shifted in films like Elemental, and now, the studio feels that it needs to take a closer look at the stories it’s creating and “double down on what allowed [them] to speak to audiences” in the first place, per Docter.
“I always felt that Elemental would speak to a lot of people, and I’m so happy it has,” Docter said. “But we have also taken another look at the projects we’re working on now. What are the kinds of films we want to be making? I really think I want to double down on what allowed us to speak to audiences, to begin with.”
No release date has been announced for the fifth Toy Story film, but diehard Woody and Buzz fans–this writer included–are thrilled that the newest story in the franchise will get back to where it all began–the unlikely friendship between a pull-string cowboy doll and a space ranger action figure. “Dieharder” Toy Story fans take it one step further, hoping that the fifth film will undo the awful tragedy that was the story of Toy Story 4 (2019).
Only time will tell if we “dieharders” will be so lucky.
Despite the film’s release being months away, Inside Out 2 is already the talk of the internet.
Disney and Pixar’s highly anticipated sequel, Inside Out 2, made a roaring debut with its trailer, amassing an astonishing 157 million views within just 24 hours. This unprecedented achievement catapulted it to the top spot as the biggest animated trailer launch in the illustrious history of Disney. Surpassing the previous record holder, Frozen 2, Inside Out 2 has set the bar even higher for animated films.
What’s even more remarkable is that a significant portion of these staggering views, approximately 78 million, poured in from the popular video-sharing platform TikTok. This demonstrates the immense reach and influence of social media platforms in promoting and generating buzz around upcoming films. Part of the excitement around the trailer is because of the introduction of a new emotion: anxiety.
Fans and enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the release of Inside Out 2, and their excitement is palpable as they eagerly count down the days until June 14, 2024, when the film will hit theaters. This highly awaited sequel promises to deliver an enthralling and emotionally captivating cinematic experience, building upon the immense success and impact of its predecessor.
The immense response received by the trailer signifies the profound connection viewers have developed with the original Inside Out, a film that touched the hearts and minds of audiences across the globe. Its innovative storytelling, brilliant animation, and compelling exploration of the strange world of human emotions resonated deeply with viewers of all ages. As such, it comes as no surprise that the sequel has generated an unprecedented level of anticipation.
However, not everyone is feeling superbly happy about this new film. In fact, many are concerned about the subject matter.
In this new film, we are expecting to meet multiple new emotions. The characters teased in the trailer include Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Anxiety. While Inside Out was praised for tackling tough topics like anger and sadness, others think that these new emotions might be pushing the envelope. TikToker Stra Hat Goofy points out in a recent video that the combination of sadness, anxiety, and ennui (depression/dissatisfaction) could get quite dark very quickly.
As the character of Reilly ages, some fans think the film could get quite controversial. However, that is not the only drama plaguing this upcoming film. The trailer’s release also informed fans that we can officially not expect the return of Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling, who portrayed fear and disgust in the original film. Rumors that the pair walked away from the franchise after Disney refused to pay them enough have been swirling for a while, and now, those rumors have some backing.
The first teaser trailer for ‘Inside Out 2’ has been released.
Despite all of these controversies, it still looks like this Disney Pixar film is going to be a massive success. Fans will be thrilled to wait and see what else is to come for Inside Out 2.
Disney and Pixar’s #InsideOut2 is coming to theaters June 2024 with brand new emotions!
The little voices inside Riley’s head know her inside and out—but next summer, everything changes when Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” introduces a new Emotion: Anxiety. According to director Kelsey Mann, the new character promises to stir things up within headquarters. “Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, might be new to the crew, but she’s not really the type to take a back seat,” said Mann. “That makes a lot of sense if you think about it in terms of what goes on inside all our minds.”
A trailer, poster and film stills are now available for what promises to be the feel-good (or feel-everything) film of Summer 2024. Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone. Maya Hawke lends her voice to Anxiety, alongside Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale as Fear, and Liza Lapira as Disgust. Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, “Inside Out 2” releases only in theaters Summer 2024.
Variety does not put it lightly. Disney and Pixar’s Elemental was a total box office flop and was beaten out by Ezra Miller’s The Flash, which also opened with disappointing numbers. Elemental made only $29.6 million on its three-day opening weekend, securing its place as a “box office lightweight.” For comparison, Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid made over $160 million worldwide on its opening weekend.
While movie-goers actually rated the theatrical release of Elemental as a good experience, the sour box office numbers tell a different story. Variety also notes that this new animated movie cost about $200 million to make and another $100 million to market, so unless there’s a huge audience shift over Elemental‘s time in theaters, the overall loss will most likely be devastating. It performed even worse than Pixar’s other low hitters Onward (2020) and The Good Dinosaur (2015).
Elemental and The Good Dinosaur also share a common director, Peter Sohn. In his 23-year-long Pixar career, Sohn says that no story has ever felt as personal to him as Elemental. He relates the story of Element City to his own life growing up in New York with Korean immigrant parents.
Sohn says,
When we saw animated films, I don’t remember translating anything for [my mom.] The medium itself was so powerful and transcendent of language that there were moments that brought her to tears. It hit me, “Wow animation can do that.” Elemental is a love letter to my parents- thanking them for building such a supportive foundation for my brother and I. Unfortunately, I lost both of them during the production of this film, and I miss them every day.
While Elemental certainly has the heart of any of its Pixar predecessors, it just didn’t generate the same turnout. Could this be a result of the pandemic on the movie-going culture? Since the pandemic and Disney’s move to release some content directly to consumers via its streaming platform Disney+, it has been difficult to generate the same animated profit.
Peter Sohn’s story about family, confidence, and choice stars the voice talents of Leah Lewis as fire element Ember and Mamoudou Athie as water dude Wade and is in theaters now.
Only time will tell if Elemental can get things sizzling at the box office, but right now, it seems to have already fizzled out.
