(PG) 96mins IT can get emotional seeing a sequel to a film you love. You want the characters to be just as entertaining and engaging as the first time — and for the story to bring the same sense of wonder and elation. Oh, and because it is a Pixar movie, the inevitable tears.
So the sentimental bar was high when going to watch this cast of, well, emotions again, nine years after the original. We meet a now 13-year-old Riley (Kensington Tallman) during a high-tempo game of ice hockey, along with the crew of feelings who live in her brain. Boss of all the feelings, Joy (Amy Poehler), and her colleagues Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, have been running a successful operation making sure young Riley is living her best life in perfect balance.
She is kind, empathetic and has a couple of geeky best pals. But then one morning in emotions HQ, an alarm goes off. It is furiously loud and reads: PUBERTY .
This opens the door to a new gang of feelings arriving in Riley’s mind. They are Anxiety (Maya Hawke) Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui — the French personification of teenage apathy. Yup, she’s a teenager all right.
Soon, the new gang are taking over Riley’s mind and when she goes to hockey camp, she becomes a very different child, falling out with her friends and showing off. Soon, within Riley’s head, the old team and newbies are clashing, with the former finding themselves shut out completely. They once again go on a long trek through Riley’s stacks of memories and try .