Inside Out 2 ending explained: Every emotion has its place

With the release of Inside Out 2 in theaters almost a decade after the original, it felt like viewers had grown up with Riley. The much-anticipated sequel that was released on June 14, 2024, brought back many familiar faces (and emotions), while also introducing new ones.

In Inside Out 2, Riley is approaching the threshold of puberty, something that takes her and her emotions by surprise. Pixar poignantly paints the struggles of adolescence while trying to cope with one’s surroundings and own self, through the journey of the emotions.

Inside Out 2, as such, reinforces the message of the first film that every emotion has its place in one’s life, However, this time, it does so from the perspective of a teenager who feels out of place. It shows that even Anxiety has its role in planning for our future, but only in moderation.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Inside Out 2. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Inside Out 2 explores the different dimensions of one's Sense of Self

Pixar has been known for imaginative world-building, and Inside Out 2 is no different. While Inside Out had transformed Riley’s mindscape into a colorful ‘mind’ landscape, complete with Personality Islands, a Memory Dump, and Transway Bus Lines, Inside Out 2 fleshes out more of this world as Riley had grown up.

The primary additions to the film include Riley’s ideas and her Sense of Self. Inside Out 2 adds another compartment to the headquarters where the emotions operate, and this compartment is accessible by a lift. The emotions bring Riley’s memories to this compartment, which has a river inside it, and floats the memories into it.

Consequently, these memories sprout threads, which all contribute to Riley’s Sense of Self. Inside Out 2 accurately portrays the inner mind of a growing teenager, albeit in a quirky way. Generally, a person’s Sense of Self is one's perception of the combination of characteristics that define their self. In this regard, Riley's Sense of Self becomes the most important part of the film.

In addition to these, several other aspects contribute to worldbuilding, including the Stream of Consciousness, which takes the form of an actual stream where Riley’s immediate thoughts materialize as objects. In one scene, the emotions fly into a 'Brainstorm', which takes the form of an actual, physical storm. This storm rains 'Ideas', which take the form of lightbulbs.

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Inside Out 2 ending shows what happens when Anxiety takes over

From the trailer, viewers knew that Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger, and Fear would be joined by a group of four new emotions— namely, Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui— once Riley hit puberty. Out of these, the one that has the biggest role in the movie is Anxiety, an orange-coloredjittery emotion who constantly plans for the future.

Anxiety’s plans and the ideas she has for Riley’s future are directly translated into the anxious worst-case scenarios that Riley plays around in her head. As she moves to hockey camp and attempts to make the tryouts, her mind is conflicted between blending with a new group of older girls and accompanying her friends (at whom she is also angry because they are moving to a new school).

Anxiety is the emotion that takes over Riley’s mind console by having Joy and the older emotions transported to the back of the mind, and in effect banishing them from the console. For a while, she is framed as the antagonist who is responsible for stealing Riley’s happiness and transforming her into an anxious teenager.

Like the first film, Inside Out 2 weaves in and out of Riley’s mind and the real world. Riley is shown being scared of imaginary situations, being unable to sleep at night, and imagining horrible futures in her head, while simultaneously Anxiety projecting future worst-case scenarios.

These emotions culminate in one last scene where Riley is shown losing her composure in the middle of the game and having a panic attack. At the same time, Anxiety loses control in her brain and while whisking around in her mind console space, becomes an orange whirlwind that leaves Riley and the other emotions transfixed and unable to act. Inside Out 2 accurately portrays what having a panic attack feels like, making this scene relatable for most.

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Inside Out 2 ending reinforces the message that every emotion has its place

Despite seemingly portraying Anxiety as the one responsible for what goes wrong in Riley’s life, the movie has a deeper message. In the end, Anxiety too is depicted as a misled emotion who had thought that consistently preparing Riley for the worst would bring out the best in her by way of elimination.

However, what happened instead was that Riley’s new Sense of Self got centered around her lack of confidence, making her believe she was not good enough. The film does not eliminate Anxiet either, instead choosing to look at it as something that we need to prepare for the worst, but also feel it in moderation so as not to take over our life.

Inside Out 2 reinforces the idea that every emotion needs to be felt, and even the hard ones. This makes the ending similar to the first film, where the other emotions understand the purpose of Sadness.

Joy realizes that sending Riley’s negative memories to the back of her mind is not healthy in the long term, and the film uses her character to showcase that toxic positivity will not help anyone in the long term. Rather, the emotions decide to use different kinds of memories to create Riley’s Sense of Self, which is not constant but always in a state of flux.

The ending of the film symbolizes that nobody can be perfect or happy all the time, and one can seldom have a consistent sense of their own self. Rather, one’s perception of oneself and the others around her is always changing, and it is healthy to feel and let the change flow.

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Inside Out 2 can be seen in theatres, and will soon release on Disney+ Hotstar.