18 facts you might not know about 'Inside Out 2'

Pete Docter, director of “Inside Out,” was thinking of ideas for a sequel as early as when the first film received its multiple Oscar nominations in 2016. However, Docter would not end up credited in the final movie. Proper development on “Inside Out 2” began in 2020, but the movie would not be announced until 2022, when Docter and Amy Poehler, the voice of Joy, appeared at Disney’s D23 Expo.

After starting his career with Cartoon Network as an animator, Kelsey Mann started to work for Pixar, beginning with another sequel, “Monsters University.” After working on basically every Pixar movie released in the ensuing years, Mann was tapped to direct “Inside Out 2,” his feature-length directorial debut. Meg LaFeuve, who worked as a screenwriter on “Inside Out,” was brought back to lead the screenwriting process on the sequel, though.

Mann, who along with LeFeuve has a “story by” credit, wanted to build his movie upon the bones of “Inside Out.” When Docter first envisioned “Inside Out,” he considered including as many as 27 emotions inside Riley’s mind, before paring it down to five. Admittedly, “the same, but more” is a classic sequel idea, but it’s their direction.

In Mann’s first go at figuring out Riley’s emotional landscape, nine new emotions were added. Three of them would not make the final cut, though. Jealousy and Guilt were nixed, with the notion that Envy and Jealousy, as well as Anxiety and Guilt, had sufficient overlap. Then, Schadenfreude got cut as well, which would have admittedly been a bold swing for a family movie. A lot of kids would have been learning about the idea of schadenfreude.

As with the first movie, psychologists were consulted while development of “Inside Out 2” was going on. That included the return of Dacher Keltner, a professor at Cal-Berkeley, who had consulted on the first movie. Additionally, Pixar brought in a group of nine teenagers, who were designated as “Riley’s Crew,” to provide feedback on the film during development. Due to development taking place in part during the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns, Mann and producer Mark Nielsen also spent plenty of time observing their own teenage children.

Originally, Riley’s journey was going to be centered on a talent show, but during development, this idea was nixed. It was not until after three test screenings of earlier versions of the film that they landed on making the fact Riley is a hockey player the center of the story. They felt this made “Inside Out 2” stand out, and it is certainly the most successful hockey movie of all time if you classify it as one.

Poehler got $5 million plus bonuses and happily signed back on to play Joy. Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black, who have solid if less robust careers, returned as Sadness and Anger. However, both Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling decided not to return for “Inside Out 2” due to a dispute over salary. The reports indicate that all four of the non-Poehler returning emotions were offered $100,000. Tony Hale took over as Fear, and Liza Lapira took the role of Disgust.

Smith was not an actor when she was cast on “The Office” as, well, Phyllis. She was actually working in the casting department when that show was casting, and she ended up with a role. Smith retired from acting and had moved to Missouri. She agreed to come out of retirement for the role, but only if Pixar found her a studio in Missouri she could use, as she said she would not travel to Los Angeles to record.

Mann was at Epcot Center with his children when he heard that Maya Hawke was available to audition for the role of anxiety, the most sizeable role among the new emotions. Hearing that, Mann leaped into action. Fortunately, Epcot and “Inside Out 2” are both Disney properties. The director was able to go into an office backstage at Epcot to do the audition over Zoom. He was so taken by Hawke’s performance she got the role.

Frank Oz and Dave Goelz, two of the iconic Muppet puppeteers, returned in “Inside Out 2” to play Mind Cop Dave and Mind Cop Frank (yes, they voice characters with one another’s names). For the sequel, though, Kirk Thatcher voiced the foreman. While Thatcher is not as famous of a name, he’s been a Muppets writer and director going back to the days of “Muppets Tonight.”

Adele Exarchopoulos was cast as one of the new emotions, Ennui. Unsurprisingly, they went with a French actress for that role. It also made things easier for the casting department. Exarchopoulos was able to dub herself in both the French and French-Canadian versions of the movie (and if you don’t think there’s a difference between European French and French-Canadian, just ask somebody from France or Quebec).

Voicing the hockey announcer in “Inside Out 2” was Kendall Coyne Schofield. Schofield is one of the most famous American female hockey players, and given that Riley is a female hockey player, that makes sense. She’s also done some announcing professionally. 

Pixar loves its Easter eggs, so much so a lot of oddballs on the internet have developed a needlessly-intricate shared universe containing all the movies. Bing Bong is a beloved, unexpected character in “Inside Out,” but he famously sacrifices himself to save Riley’s emotions. However, Joy has a sculpture of Bing Bong next to her bed, so he lives on in a way.

Michael Giacchino scored “Inside Out,” but he was unavailable for the sequel. Andrea Datzman was tabbed to replace him as the composer for “Inside Out 2.” This made history, as Datzman is the first woman to score a Pixar movie.

Projections for the opening weekend of “Inside Out 2” were conservative. “Soul,” “Luca,” and “Turning Red” were all Disney+ releases, and “Lightyear” was a flop. Plus, 2024 had not been a huge movie year at the box office. “Furiosa” and “Garfield” had disappointed to kick off the summer. Well, “Inside Out 2” turned the expectations, um, inside out. Initial projections for the opening weekend domestically came in at $80-$90 million. It would make $154.2 million domestically and $294.2 million worldwide, the biggest opening weekend in Pixar history.

Yes, it may seem early, but we’re calling it now. When all is said and done, “Inside Out 2” will be the highest-grossing movie, domestically and worldwide, in 2024. The movie made $101.2 million domestically in its second weekend, with its 34.4-percent drop off the seventh lowest in history. It didn’t just clear the box office of the original, it did so with gusto. “Inside Out 2” has hit $600 million domestically and $1.4 billion worldwide. The movie is now Pixar’s highest-grossing film and the second-highest-grossing animated movie ever, behind only the weirdo “live-action” remake of “The Lion King.”

That huge worldwide total was bolstered significantly by Latin America. In that area of the world, “Inside Out 2” was gigantic. While not adjusting for inflation skews matters, “Inside Out 2” is thought to be the highest-grossing film of all-time in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay.

If you are a Marvel fan, you have grown accustomed to waiting for end credits scenes. Pixar isn’t afraid to get in on that fun, though, and if you ducked out of “Inside Out 2” early, you may have missed an end credits scene. It’s not setting up another adventure like an MCU film, though. In the film, the emotions never find out what Deep Dark Secret is hiding in Riley’s vault. After the credits, though, Joy goes to see him again, and Deep Dark Secret lets it out. Turns out Riley burnt a hole in the family’s rug.