’s 2015 instant classic, , was the best possible psychological starter kit for curious kids. The movie was groundbreaking in its inventive way of showing children the complex workings of their minds, framed as a hair-raising adventure, while also making the tour into the subconscious both hilarious and deeply affecting for adults. What are the odds that a sequel almost a decade later and by a mostly new creative team could recapture its canonical predecessor’s magic and humanity? But graduating from childhood into the emotional minefield of early adolescence might even have improved upon it.
Veteran Pixar storyboard artist Kelsey Mann hits a home run with his first feature, working from a screenplay by Meg LeFauve (the key holdover from ) and Dave Holstein that ingeniously personifies the tornado of conflicting feelings wreaking havoc inside the head of 13-year-old Riley (Kensington Tallman). Whereas many sequels bulk up on principal characters simply because the laws of the follow-up demand it, the script here follows the sound logic that the relatively simple core emotions of childhood would suddenly be jostling for space with a whole new set of volatile feelings and confused impulses when adolescence hits. It’s the balance of basic psychology with abstract concepts and inspired observational comedy that makes this a uniquely captivating coming-of-age tale.
Riley has come through her tween years as a kind, well-adjusted kid who loves her supportive parents (Diane Lane.