Pixar’s original “ Inside Out ,” from 2015, was a unique treasure: a journey inside the mind of a Bay Area 11-year-old girl named Riley, filled with witty detail, dazzling color and gentle poignancy about the mysterious journey of growing up. Nine years later, here comes “Inside Out 2,” from a studio that seems to be focusing more on sequels and franchises than quirky original stories — and guess what? It’s adorable. Sure, much of it follows ground already trodden in the first film, but it finds that same sweet balance of tears and laughter.
Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman) is now 13, with a meticulously rendered little pimple on her chin and a whole new set of emotions in her head. The crew from last time — Joy (Amy Poehler), Disgust (Liza Lapira), Fear (Tony Hale), Anger (Lewis Black) and Sadness (the wonderfully soggy Phyllis Smith) — is present, but they’re joined by some more teen-specific colleagues: Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ado Edebiri), Ennui ( Adèle Exarchopoulos ) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser). All do battle inside Riley’s brain as she heads off to hockey camp for a few days and is quickly torn between her old friends (Grace Lu, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and a cool new group of girls led by Valentina (Lilimar), who has the sort of perfectly streaked hair that can easily turn a teen’s head.
Of the new characters, I was particularly partial to Ennui, who sprawls spaghetti-like on a couch murmuring French-accented words of bored.
