‘Film Inside Out 2 makes adolescent emotions recognizable’

This article was last updated on July 17, 2024

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‘Film Inside Out 2 makes adolescent emotions recognizable‘

Today the film Inside out 2 will be shown in cinemas in the Netherlands. Just like in part 1, the Pixar film largely takes place in the head of the girl Riley, in which various characters portray her emotions. And that can help with understanding the adolescent brain, experts say.

In part 1 they were Pleasure, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness. In the second part, in which Riley turns 13, new emotions are added, such as Envy, Boredom and Shyness. Much of the focus in Part 2 is on “Anxiety”, or a combination of fear, anxiety and worry.

Watch the trailer for Inside Out 2 here:

The makers of the Inside Out films have spoken extensively with Dacher Keltner, an American professor of psychology who does a lot of research into emotions.

“They really asked them a lot of questions about how emotions work and why do we have them?” says media psychologist Rebecca de Leeuw from Radboud University in the NOS Radio 1 Journaal. “You can see that completely in both films. You see what happens to Riley when she reaches puberty. They have very beautifully depicted and made concrete how that works in her head. Very recognizable for parents and teenagers themselves.”

Social intelligence

All so-called ‘self-conscious emotions’ are discussed, says De Leeuw. “These naturally come into play much more during puberty. Because you can think more abstractly, you are also more able to think about what people think of you or about you.”

This means that ‘anxiety’ plays an important role in this film, says De Leeuw. “What I like about the film is that it shows that it is a good emotion that helps you and keeps you sharp. That it can bring you a lot if you have it, but that it is not meant to take over everything. that it’s too much.”

Following the first film, De Leeuw also conducted research into how stories can be meaningful for children. “We saw very clearly that it can increase social intelligence. Children are then aware of their own emotions.”

Well received

In any case, watching films can help with this, says De Leeuw. “You are always concerned with what is happening and what people are thinking. You use social intelligence for that, and it can grow when you encounter things you do not understand. Sometimes children look more often to understand something, and that is growth moments.”

Those kinds of moments will also be in part 2, De Leeuw suspects. “Also in the area of ​​recognition, that we all have to deal with anxiety sometimes. That also reminds me of the director, Kelsey Mann. He was also very insecure as an adolescent. He now says that he wanted there to be had also been a film like that, so he wouldn’t have felt so alone.”

Inside Out 2 previously premiered and performed in the United States amazingly good. In the Netherlands, in addition to the original, a dubbed version can also be seen under the name Binnenstebuiten 2.