While “Inside Out 2” is now the most financially successful animated film of all time, there’s plenty that was left out that could prompt another sequel.
In “The Art of Inside Out 2,” director Kelsey Mann shows characters who didn’t make the second film, concepts that got cut and background about some of the characters who have been added.
Clearly, Anxiety became a key focus for many of the film’s animators. The wild character pops up all over the place and becomes a key player in the story. Anxiety, according to John Hoffman, story supervisor, is an “overeager intern who sees a problem and tries to fix it.”
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From left are Embarrassment, voiced by Paul Walter Hauser, Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, Envy, voiced by Ayo Edebiri, and Ennui, voiced by Adèle Exarchopoulos, in a scene from "Inside Out 2."
That helps set the tone for the film and shows how Riley, the human who plays host to all the emotions, struggles to get through those tough adolescent years.
Puberty – which becomes a player in the story – is an “intense, inconvenient project that overwhelms the emotions,” according to John West, sets art director.
The concept gets traction at a place called “Puberty Park,” where an emotional roller coaster shares space with the Bone Stretcher ride and Growing Pains taffy and candy shop.
Other theme park-ish ideas include Procrastination Land, which is near Sar-Chasm, and Spinney’s Pizza. The latter (which does get a shot in the film) is named for Caroll Spinney, the Muppeteer who played Big Bird.
Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, left, and Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, in a scene from "Inside Out 2."
The insight in “Art of Inside Out 2” is much greater than in other “making of” books. Artists who worked on various aspects of the film (including those characters that were excluded) get to weigh in and explain what might have been. Captain Gail, one of the characters who didn’t make the cut, offers plenty of visual opportunity and could be a jumping off point for “Inside Out 3.”
While we get plenty of details about the new emotions, we don’t hear a lot about Pouchy, a two-dimensional character who became a fan favorite. He’s in here, just not in the same number of pages as Ennui, Embarrassment and Envy.
From left are Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith, Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, Disgust, voiced by Liza Lapira, Fear, voiced by Tony Hale, and Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, in a scene from "Inside Out 2."
Anxiety has a bedroom that provides insight the film didn’t. There, we see inspirational posters, fidget spinners, a TV set and a cup of tea.
Twins – representing jealousy – didn’t figure into the final film but they work to convey emotions that, maybe, Envy couldn’t.
While “Art of Inside Out 2” has great tributes to animators and artists who work in the Pixar shop, it’s best contributions are the near-misses that didn’t make it in the film. A potential theme park ride? The ground work is here.
